Kingdom Hearts 2
by Chosen One1
Summary: A year has gone by since the opening of Kingdom Hearts. Sora, Riku and Kairi must embark on a new journey aided by the FFX crew. Along the way they meet a new girl. Will a romance blossem between her and Riku? Finished
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy 10 in any way. (Though someday I might). But until that time, let me give you the shining jewel of all my fanfics: KINGDOM HEARTS 2!

I also don't own ANY of the songs in this fic. All songs are copyrighted to their respective owners. I don't claim ownership for the songs in ANY way.

Summary: A year has gone by since the opening of Kingdom Hearts. Old Enemies are revived and new friends come. (FFX Characters included) Sora, Riku and Kairi must embark on a new journey aided by Tidus and the rest of the FFX crew. Along the way they meet a new girl. Will a romance blossom between her and Riku? Sora/Kairi Tidus/Yuna Riku/???  
  


  
*Whenever these appear that means a song is playing*  
  
~Simple and Clean~  
  
I*You're giving me too many things  
  
Lately you're all I need  
  
You smiled at me and said,*  
  
  
  
  
  
Don't get me wrong I love you  
  
But does that mean I have to meet your father?  
  
When we are older you'll understand  
  
What I meant when I said "No,  
  
I don't think life is quite that simple"  
  
  
  
  
  
When you walk away  
  
You don't hear me say please  
  
Oh baby, don't go  
  
Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight  
  
It's hard to let it go  
  
  
  
  
  
The daily things that keep us all busy  
  
Are confusing me  
  
That's when you came to me and said,  
  
  
  
  
  
Wish I could prove I love you  
  
But does that mean I have to walk on water?  
  
When we are older you'll understand  
  
It's enough when I say so  
  
And maybe some things are that simple  
  
  
  
  
  
When you walk away  
  
You don't hear me say please  
  
Oh baby, don't go  
  
Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight  
  
It's hard to let it go  
  
  
  
  
  
Hold me  
  
Whatever lies beyond this morning  
  
Is a little later on  
  
Regardless of warnings the future doesn't scare me at all  
  
Nothing's like before  
  
  
  
  
  
Hold me  
  
Whatever lies beyond this morning  
  
Is a little later on  
  
Regardless of warnings the future doesn't scare me at all  
  
Nothing's like before*/I  
  
~Song Ends~  
  
Now is the time for the wings of destiny to take flight, and to sent all things wrong right.


	2. Different Worlds

"SORA!" A voice called. Sora turned around and smiled. His girlfriend Kairi was running up the beach towards him.  
"Hi Kairi, what's up?"  
  
"The sky." She joked.  
  
He laughed and kissed her. "Very funny. So have you seen Riku lately?"  
  
It had been 1 year since Riku and King Mickey had become trapped in Kingdom Hearts. With the help of Goofy and Donald, Sora had managed to find both Riku and his way home to destiny islands. But Riku had changed greatly. King Mickey had said that was normal after almost having your soul consumed by darkness and the effect should wear off soon.  
But the effect hadn't worn off. Riku was much quieter and solemn than usual. He often spent his time standing at the end of the pier, looking out at the sea in silence.  
  
"Yeah I saw him," Kairi said nodding, "He's standing at the end of the pier as usual. Honestly, I don't know what the hell is wrong with him."  
  
"Well I'll go find out." Sora said. He turned and hurried down the beach.  
  
Riku was standing at the very edge of the pier. His silvery hair fluttered in the breeze.  
"My life isn't what it used to be," He thought to himself, "I don't know what's wrong though."  
  
"RIKU!" A voice called. Riku turned around and saw his best friend Sora running up the pier towards him.  
  
"Oh, hi Sora." Riku said without any emotion.  
  
"Riku, what's wrong with you? You're acting like you were when you were possessed by Ansem!"  
Riku shrugged and sat down on the edge of the pier and looked down into the water. It was shining an orange color because the sun was setting.  
  
"I don't know what's wrong with me, it feels like a part of my soul's been torn out and I'm feeling empty inside."  
  
Sora sighed. "I'm sorry about Kairi..."  
  
"What?" Riku said staring at him. Then he smiled. "Don't worry about it Sora, that's not what I'm talking about. I know how crazy you are about her and I'm happy for you."  
  
Riku sighed and stared at the sun. He'd been acting really weird lately. He felt like he couldn't control himself anymore. One night he'd sleepwalked and woken up standing over Sora's bed holding a butcher knife in a stabbing position. He was afraid he was going to hurt someone he cared about if he couldn't figure it out.  
  
"You seem so different than you were before." Sora said folding his hands behind his head.  
  
"I'll be okay. Promise."  
Sora shrugged and turned and walked off the pier where Kairi was waiting for him.  
  
Riku had been telling the truth about Kairi. He wasn't crushing on her anymore. But he still felt empty. He felt as if his heart had been taken by the heartless. Riku looked out at the sky. Dark clouds were forming on the horizon. A storm was coming.  
  
"What do you mean your majesty?" Donald cried.  
  
He and Goofy were in Disney Castle where King Mickey sat on the throne.  
  
"The Heartless have returned," The king said grimly, "And they are ten-times more   
powerful than before. They have already consumed a number of worlds."  
  
"Where are they headed next?" Goofy asked.  
  
King Mickey sighed and looked at them. "Infinity Islands, Spira, and Destiny Islands." He said solemnly.  
  
"DESTINY ISLANDS?!" Goofy and Donald both cried. "But-but that's where Sora, Riku, and Kairi live!"  
  
"They'll be ok," King Mickey said nodding, "Sora and Riku are the Keyblade Masters so they should be alright. It's Infinity Islands we need to worry about. Two of the Pure-Hearts reside there."  
  
"Pure-Hearts?" Donald said frowning, "Aren't they just a myth?"  
  
"No. They are real, now I want you to go to Traverse Town and find Leon. He and the others will help."  
  
"Right!" Donald said saluting him, "We won't let you down your majesty!"  
  
Meanwhile in Spira...  
  
"Hey Tidus!" A voice called. Tidus turned. He saw his pal Wakka running towards him.  
  
"What's up?" He asked.  
  
"Big news brudda!" Wakka said stopping to catch a breath, "Remember that huge storm sweeping the west area of Spira?! Well it just consumed a whole town!!!"  
  
"WHAT?!" He yelled immediately drawing his sword. "We gotta go check this out!"  
  
"Yuna and Lulu are already on the airship! Let's go!"  
  
Meanwhile on Infinity Islands...  
  
A young girl leaned back on her bed and sighed. She was 16. She had long orange-red hair that was braided and hung down to her waist and was tied at the ends with white ribbons. She had deep blue eyes. She was wearing a yellow t-shirt and blue jeans. Around her neck she wore a necklace with a pink heart-shaped pendant at the end.  
Her name was Mia.  
Lightening crashed outside. She screamed in terror. Lightening was her worst fear; the very sound of it could send her diving under the bed. A black storm cloud had covered the island and rain splattered against the large window next to her bed.  
  
Mia sat up and hugged her knees and gazed out the window. Mia was a daydreamer. She often thought about getting off this island and visiting other worlds.  
  
"I wonder what's waiting for me out there," She said gazing at the stars overhead, "I wish I could leave and see other places."  
Thunder crashed outside. She looked out the window and screamed at the sky: "QUIET!"  
  
She looked back at the sky and frowned. She was sure that there had been a star there a second ago, but now it was gone.  
Mia gazed about her room. It had floral decorations everywhere. Mia loved flowers. She always picked and collected them.  
  
Suddenly she jerked upright in shock. She was sure she could see a moving shadow outside her window. But she blinked and it was gone. 


	3. Seperated

"Hey Riku wake up!" A voice yelled.  
  
Riku jerked awake. He'd fallen asleep at the end of the pier. He looked up at Sora and gasped. He was holding the Keyblade.  
  
"QUICK!!! GET YOUR OWN KEYBLADE!! THE HEARTLESS ARE ATTACKING!"  
  
"WHAT?!" Riku yelled. He looked towards the shore. A swarm of shadow heartless had materialized. Riku stood up and raised his hand. His black and red keyblade appeared. He remembered how he'd used it to fight against his own friends when he'd gone over to darkness. He looked at it with disgust.  
  
"COME ON RIKU!" Sora yelled. "The last I saw they were chasing Kairi towards the secret place!"  
Riku ran down the shore after Sora slashing through swarms of Heartless. As they cut through them, monsters vanished in wispy clouds of shadows.  
  
They crawled through the tunnel that led to the secret place. Kairi was already there. She had her own sword in her hand. It was white with a gold handle.  
  
"Sora look!" She cried pointing. The door to darkness had reappeared and it seemed to be brimming with shadows.  
  
Suddenly the door swung open and Kairi screamed. She was being sucked into it. Sora's hand shot out and grabbed a hold of her wrist. But to his horror he realized that he was being sucked in too. Riku quickly grabbed onto a vine hanging off the wall and grabbed onto Sora's hand.  
  
"Hang on you guys!" He yelled, "I'm gonna try to pull us out!"  
  
He started to crawl along the ground, still holding onto the vine.  
Suddenly the vine snapped and they all plunged through the door into darkness.  
"What the hell are this things?!" Tidus yelled as he sliced through a heartless.  
  
"I don't know man! But they keep on coming!" Wakka yelled destroying one with his blitzball. Lulu was electrocuting one with her thunderga magic attack, while Yuna blew a group of them to bits with her Aeon Ixion.  
  
"Um, guys?" A voice yelled. They turned to see their friend Rikku (no relation to Riku, Rikku is a girl, Riku is a boy) standing there. She pointed at the sky. A huge swirling vortex had appeared and was sucking in everything around them.  
  
"Quick! Everyone back on the airship!" Yuna screamed. But Tidus grabbed her arm and stopped her.  
  
"It's too late!" He yelled, "It already has us!" As he spoke they were lifted into the air and dragged through the vortex.  
  
"HERE WE GO AGAIN!" Wakka yelled.  
Mia moaned and opened her eyes. "How long have I been sleeping?" She looked at her clock. It read 10:00 pm. Thunder crashed outside but she ignored it and looked out the window. A blood-curdling scream escaped her lips. She could she hundreds of shadow creatures down on the shore. They were chasing people and sniffing around. She noticed one touching a palm tree. The moment the creature laid its claws on the trunk the tree withered and died.  
  
The door to her bedroom swung open and at least a dozen of those creatures burst into her room. She screamed. She tried the window but the latch was stuck. She was trapped! Those horrible creatures grabbed her by the legs and dragged her to the floor.  
  
"No! Leave me alone! STAY AWAY FROM ME!" She screamed. She could make out a faint whispering noise coming from the creatures.  
  
"We must take her back…"  
  
"…Yes, back to her."  
  
"NOOOOOOOO!" Mia screamed shielding her face, "I SAID STAY AWAY FROM ME!"  
  
"Leave her alone!" A voice yelled. Mia looked up.  
  
Standing in the doorway was a girl with shoulder-length reddish-brown hair and glasses. She held a purple sword with a red handle. Mia recognized her as her best friend Katie.  
Katie had come to the Islands a few months ago. She wouldn't say where she was from or why she was alone. One thing was for sure; Katie was a good kind person.  
  
Katie raised her sword and destroyed the creatures with one swipe. She broke the glass in the window and jumped out onto the sandy shore. Before Mia followed her, she grabbed her backpack and loaded it with supplies. Something told her it'd be a long time before she returned here.  
  
Once they were both outside Katie and Mia were immediately confronted by a group of those creatures.  
  
"What are these things?" Mia screamed.  
  
"We call them Heartless." Katie said matter-of-factly.  
  
Mia swung her fists weakly at them but they tackled her and she stumbled back.  
  
"Take this." Katie said handing her a sword. Mia gaped at it in shock.  
  
It had a golden blade and a blue handle. In the center of the handle was a glistening golden gem. It had some sort of chain hanging off the end of the handle with a smaller gem at the end. It was so strong and powerful looking, but it was light and easy to handle.  
  
Katie smiled. "That belonged to an old friend of mine named Carolyn."  
  
Mia's eyes widened. "From your old home?"  
  
Katie nodded. "That sword is extremely powerful, I hope you know how to use it."  
  
Mia smiled and nodded. She wiped out the heartless with one swipe.  
  
*When these appear a song is playing*  
  
~Otherworld~  
  
*Go now if you want it. An otherworld awaits you  
Don't you give up on it. You bite the hand that feeds you*  
  
They ran up to the highest point on the island. It was a hill called King of the Mountain Rock. They could see a swirling vortex in the sky. It was pulling up trees, bushes, people, everything.  
They reached the top of the hill. It was directly under the vortex. Mia could feel the suction of it. A group of Heartless began to follow them uphill.  
  
*All alone, cold fields you wander  
Memories of it, cloud your sight  
Fills you dreams, disturbs your slumber  
Lost your way, a fallen knight*  
  
"KATIE WE'RE TRAPPED!" Mia screamed.  
  
Katie shook her head. "No we're not."  
  
*Hold now aim is steady. An otherworld awaits you.  
One thousand years-you ready? The other world it takes you*  
  
"Katie, you're scaring me." Mia whimpered.  
  
Katie nodded. "Good. You should be scared."  
  
"I-I don't understand."  
  
"You will."  
  
*Go into the sand and the dust in the sky  
Go now; no better plan to do or to die  
Free me pray to the faith in the face of the light  
Feed me; fill me with sin now get ready to fight.  
You know you will  
You know you will  
You know you know you know you know you that you will.  
You know you know you know you know you that you will.  
You know you will*  
  
Katie grabbed Mia by the front of the shirt and held her up towards the vortex and released her. To Mia's great shock she was being pulled up into the portal.  
  
"Be careful!" Mia screamed down to Katie who was still on the ground. The heartless had covered her. Mia heard her scream in pain.  
  
*Hope dies and you wonder. The otherworld it makes you.  
Dreams they rip you asunder. The otherworld it hates you.  
Free now, ride up on it. Up to the heights it takes you  
Go now if you want it. An otherworld awaits you*  
  
~Song ends~  
  
Mia saw a flash of something pink being drawn from Katie's body. It looked like her heart. The heartless took it and absorbed it. Katie lay there pale and white. The heartless scooped her up and carried her off.  
  
"KATIE!!!" Mia screamed as she was pulled up into the light and disappeared. 


	4. The Team Finally Meets

Disclaimer: A few things in this chapter may not make sense unless you've read my other fanfic 'The Legend Begins'. So let me clarify a few things. Carolyn is a hero in a world known as Neopia. She is the Chosen One and her powers are extrodinary. Katie is her best friend, Caitlin is her other best friend, and Tommy is her little brother. Tommy, Caitlin, and Kaite are all guardians to her. The sword Mia has is Carolyn's magic sword that only someone pure of heart can use.  
  
Sora slammed down onto something cold and hard. He looked around. He saw Kairi laying a few feet to his left. Riku was to his right. He stood up and looked around. He recognized the place as Traverse Town's Second District. Riku and Kairi stood up.  
"At least we're all together this time." Kairi sighed.  
"Hey look!" Riku said pointing.  
Sora saw a group of people in their late teens standing nearby. They looked dazed and confused.  
"Maybe they're refugees from another world." Sora said shrugging, "Let's go talk to them."  
  
"I feel really funky man." Wakka moaned.  
"Don't blow chunks on me!" Tidus said stepping away from him.  
"Hey, who's that Tidus?" Yuna asked pointing.  
A 15-year old boy with spiky brown hair and blue eyes was running towards them. A 16-year old boy with silver hair and a 15-year old girl with short brown hair followed him closely.  
"Um...hi." The first boy said, "Who are you guys?"  
Tidus frowned and stared at them. "My name is Tidus, this is Yuna, Wakka, Lulu, and Rikku"  
"Nice to meet you guys," The boy said, "My name is Sora, this is my friend Riku and my girlfriend Kairi. Did your world get destroyed by the heartless too?"  
"By the what?" Lulu asked.  
"The heartless, you know the nasty little black monsters?" Riku said stepping forward.  
"Oh you mean like THAT thing!" Wakka said pointing.  
Sora spun around. A heartless had materialized and was advancing on Kairi. He shot forward like a bullet and hacked it to pieces.  
"Whoa!" Tidus said his eyes widening, "Not bad for a kid!"  
"Who you calling a kid buddy?" Riku yelled, "We are teenagers!"  
"That's an interesting sword." Yuna said looking at Sora's keyblade.  
"It's a legendary weapon called the keyblade, it has the power to stop the heartless."  
"Your friend Riku's sword looks very similar," Lulu said frowning, "But it seems darker in a way."  
Riku quickly put his keyblade away in shame.  
"There's a reason for that." He said turning away.  
"What reason would that be?" Rikku asked.  
Riku inhaled sharply and let the breath out slowly. "I-I used to be a servant of darkness."  
Immediately Tidus and the others took a quick step back away from him. Riku had expected no less.  
"He was possessed!" Sora said quickly jumping to his friend's defense, "And besides, he's better now. He's a good guy again!"  
Everyone seemed to relax a bit. But only a little bit. Yuna decided to change the subject.  
"So what's the deal with those Heartless monsters? What exactly are they?"  
"They are creatures without hearts," Kairi explained, "They envy people with hearts so they steal the hearts and devour them. Once a heartless takes your heart you become a lifeless shell unless your heart is restored."  
"That's um...kind of confusing." Wakka said scratching his head.  
"We'll have to introduce you to some of our friends, they can explain it better than we can. Come on." Sora said motioning for them to follow him.  
  
Mia's head was spinning. She opened her eyes. She was looking up at a boy with brown hair and brown eyes. He was wearing black jeans and a white t-shirt with a black short-sleeved leather jacket over it.  
  
"Good news Yuffie!" He called, "I think she's gonna pull through!"  
Mia sat up and surveyed her surrounding. She was in a small room sitting up in bed.   
  
Standing behind the boy was a girl with dark hair wearing a ninja suit carrying a bag of ninja stars. On the other side of the room she could see a girl with long brown hair tied back in a braid wearing a long pink dress leaning over some sort of potion. A boy with spiky blond hair sat nearby, a large sword was in his hand. He smiled.  
  
"I guess this means I don't get to kill it right?" The brown hair-girl gave him a playful shove.  
"CLOUD! Don't joke about that!" She smiled and turned to Mia, "Don't worry about Cloud, he's perfectly harmless."  
"Who are you guys?!" Mia demanded. The brown hair-boy looked offended.  
"Hey! I think I'm the one who just saved your life! Or don't you remember?"  
The girl called Yuffie nudged him aside. "Of course she doesn't remember Leon, she was knocked out when it happened." She smiled at Mia. "Don't mind him. So what's your name? Mine's Yuffie. This is Leon, Cloud, and Aerith."  
"My name's Mia." She said groggily, "What happened?"  
"Well Mia, I found you in the alley just as that witch Maleficent was about to take you," Leon said nodding towards his sword, "I managed to get you out of there."  
"Witch?" Mia said frowning, "Why would she want me?"  
"We don't know," Aerith said walking up to her holding the potion in her hand, "Here, drink this."  
"HOLY SMOKES! I JUST REMEMBERED! KATIE!" Mia cried ignoring Aerith.  
"Katie?" Aerith said looking confused, "Here, just lie down and drink this."  
"Please-" Mia started to say, but she was cut off when Aerith tipped the potion down her throat. It had a nasty peppery taste that made her eyes water. She spat in out in disgust. It flew across the room and hit Cloud in the face.  
"Oops!" Mia gulped, "Sorry."  
"Yeah," Cloud said wiping the potion off his face, "That's just what I've always wanted. A nasty potion smacking me in the face."  
  
Mia leaned back and yanked the covers over her head. She wanted this all to be a dream. She wanted to wake up back home. Katie would be outside playing blitzball. Mia would come outside and say what a crazy dream she'd had, and they'd both have a good laugh about it before challenging the neighborhood boys to a match.  
  
But when she lowered the covers Leon and the others were still there, staring at her strangely. She pulled the covers over her head again and shut her eyes and didn't open them.  
  
Leon stared at her. "What the hell is the matter with that kid?" He sighed.  
Just then the door to the house swung open. Sora came in followed closely by Kairi, Riku, and a group of teens he didn't recognize.  
"Sora?" Everyone said at once. (Except for Mia who was still under the blankets). They sighed. "Oh no. Not your world too."  
Sora nodded. "Yeah, the Heartless destroyed our world too."  
"They destroy worlds too?" Tidus moaned, "Aw man, this is heavy!"  
"Weight has nothing to do with it." Cloud said rolling his eyes.  
"If the heartless can destroy worlds, then that must mean that Spira..." Yuna trailed off sadly. Tidus put his arm around her.  
"Spira was our world before the Heartless came." He explained.  
"We got another worldly visitor here." Yuffie said nodding towards the lump on the bed that was Mia. "She was attacked by Maleficent right before we found her."  
"MALEFICENT?!" Riku yelled. His face flushed red with anger.  
"Maleficent was the one who brought Riku over to the dark side." Sora sighed.  
"How could she still be alive?!" Kairi cried, "I thought you killed her Sora!"  
"That's what's scaring me, I did."  
"I'm gonna ask this person a few questions about Maleficent!" Riku said storming up to the bed.  
"Hold on she doesn't know anything..." Yuffie started to say. But Riku had already yanked down the blankets. His eyes widened. He stared down a pretty girl with long red hair tied back in a braid wearing a yellow t-shirt and jeans and white sneakers. She stared back up at him with deep blue eyes.  
"Um...hi." He said, "I heard you were attacked by Maleficent. Was she alive?"  
She shrugged. "I was unconscious so I don't remember."  
"Oh," Riku said sighing with disappointment, "Well, what's your name?"  
"Mia, what's yours?" She was gazing at him in a weird sort of way.  
"Riku, these are my friends Sora and Kairi."  
"Nice to meet you." She said tearing her gaze away from Riku.  
"So you said that a witch was trying to kidnap her?" Wakka asked, "Was anyone else there?"  
"A few heartless." Aerith said dabbing Mia's head with a wet washcloth. A sharp pain went through Mia's skull. She reached up and felt her forehead. She looked down at her hand. It was covered in blood from a gash on her forehead.  
"How'd that happen?" Lulu asked with concern in her voice. Mia shrugged.  
"I guess it must have happened while me and my friend Katie were fighting the heartless..." Her voice trailed off and tears began to form in her eyes. Mia still had no idea of what had happened to Katie. She buried her face in her hands and cried.  
"What's wrong?" Riku asked leaning towards her.  
Mia took a deep breath and explained about how the heartless had destroyed her world and how Katie had lost something pink from inside her body and gone limp and how the heartless had carried her off. When she was finished Leon's face was white.  
"I'd hate to be the bearer of bad news kid, but it sounds to me like your friend's heart was stolen."  
"Ok. Let's pretend I don't know what that means." Mia said frowning.  
Leon explained about how the heartless devoured people's hearts and how the people became lifeless shells. And then he told how there was no known way to get a person's heart back. When he was finished Mia clenched her fists in anger.  
  
"I see...so Katie's a lifeless puppet now. Well why not?! Infinity Island is gone, why not Katie?! The heartless probably wiped out everything and everyone on the whole damn island!!!"  
"What I don't understand is why the heartless carried her off." Cloud said frowning.  
  
Suddenly the door swung open and two familiar faces walked in.  
"How nice, a duck and a dog." Rikku joked. But Sora recognized the faces right away.  
"DONALD! GOOFY!" He cried. He ran over and embraced his two friends. Kairi and even Riku ran over and hugged them too.  
  
Donald smiled. "Great to see you again Sora! Hi Kairi!" His eyes narrowed, "Hello Riku." He said bitterly. Mia frowned.  
"Why are you so mean to him?"  
  
"Because went over to the dar..." Goofy started to say but Riku clamped his hand over his mouth.  
"Because I owe them money!" Riku said quickly.  
  
"Oh is that all?" Mia said. She seemed satisfied with that answer. She got up. "Well where do we go from here?"  
"We go out and stop the heartless." Sora said drawing his keyblade.  
"Count us in!" Tidus said raising his hand.  
"Fine, we can use all the help we can get." Donald said smiling.  
  
"And I'll go too." Mia said turning to Leon, "Where's my stuff and my sword?"  
"Over in the corner." He said nodding his head to the left.  
"Now hold on!" Donald said frowning "Isn't it a bit dangerous for a young girl?"  
"If defeating the heartless will restore Katie then I'll go no matter what." Mia said slipping on her backpack.  
Donald folded his arms and stared at her sternly. "NO!"  
  
"Come on Donald," Riku said nudging him, "Let her come if she really wants too."  
Donald looked hopelessly from Sora to Kairi who were both nodding. He sighed. "Ok fine, you can come. But I'm warning you, if you slow us down then you'll be hauling your ass down lollipop-lane on your own!"  
Mia grinned and punched the air. "YES!"  
  
"Why didn't you want Mia to know you were once a tool of darkness?" Wakka asked when Mia couldn't hear them.  
"She would hate my guts," Riku said shrugging, "She would distance herself from me, and the closer we all are during this trip the better."  
"So where are we headed?" Kairi asked.  
"Well if it was Maleficent that Mia saw then we should head to Hollow Bastion," Goofy said thinking. (AMAZING!!)  
"Ok then," Sora said nodding, "Then that's where we go."  
  
They walked to Traverse Town's first district to buy some supplies from Cid. They entered the shop but instead of Cid two young girls and a little boy stood at the counter. One had short blond hair that hung down to her shoulder and soft blue eyes. The other girl had long brown hair and brown eyes. The boy had short brown hair and brown eyes.  
"Hi!" The blond girl said, "Welcome to the items shop. My name's Carolyn, what do you need?"  
"Um...about 20 high potions," Sora said staring at her, "By the way, where's Cid?"  
"Cid?" Rikku said. Her eyes widened. "That's my dad's name!"  
"Maybe he's a parallel version of him." The boy said. He cupped his hands over his mouth and yelled. "HEY OLD MAN! YOU'VE GOT SOME FRIENDS HERE TO SEE YOU!"  
Cid ran in from the back of the store. He glared at him. "Don't call me an old man Tommy." He snapped.  
"Fine, I'll stop, you old fart."  
"Shut up and get Sora's order!" Tommy ran to the back of the shop.  
"You could be a bit nicer to us!" Carolyn snapped, "We're from another world and we're still getting used to this! And if you ever yell at my little brother again you'll pay!"  
"Carolyn calm down!" The brown hair girl said sternly.  
"NO! Nobody picks on my little brother but me and gets away with it! You know that Caitlin!"  
"I know that you've got a really bad temper!"  
  
"HELLO!" A voice yelled. A furry creature that looked like a squirrel wearing ribbons jumped down from the ceiling and grabbed Sora's head.  
"AHHHH!!!! GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!" He cried.  
"PACHI!" Carolyn yelled grabbing it, "Quit scaring the customers!"  
"I don't have my sisters or brother to pick on so the customers will have to do." She said smiling. A small blue creature that looked like a penguin waddled up to her.  
"Hyper today, aren't we?" It said smiling.  
"Be quiet Snowflakey!" Pachi snapped.  
"What are those things?" Riku asked.  
"They're called Neopets." Carolyn sighed, "Pachi is mine, and Snowflakey is Caitlin's. People had them as pets in our world before the heartless destroyed it. My other Neopets were separated from me." She said sadly. Then she noticed Mia's sword.  
"HEY MY SWORD!" She yelled snatching it from her. "You little dipshit! Do you know what this sword could do if it fell into the wrong hands?!"  
"But-but," Mia stuttered, "It was a gift from my friend Katie!"  
"KATIE?!" Carolyn shrieked, "YOU SAW KATIE?! WHERE IS SHE?!"  
"I don't know!" Mia screamed, "PLEASE DON'T HURT ME!"  
Carolyn sighed and twirled her sword. "Katie is my best friend from our world. She's been missing for two months." She looked at Mia and sighed. "That little asshole…giving the chosen one's sword to an amateur…what the bloody hell was she thinking?"  
"Me and Katie are heroes in our world, Caitlin too." Carolyn handed Mia the sword. "You keep it for now. And if you see Katie tell her that when I find her I'm going to kick her ass. Ok?"  
"Ok." Mia squeaked.  
Just then Tommy came back with their potions. They paid and left.  
"Well that was educational." Tidus said smiling.  
  
Then came to the gummi ship's gate.  
"We've remodeled it," Goofy said proudly, "It's much bigger than before. It's even got a kitchen!"  
"SWEET!" Sora yelled. He jumped inside. Mia smiled.  
"He's a lively person."  
Riku smiled. "Lively wasn't the word I was looking for."  
"What was the word you were looking for?" Mia asked.  
"Stupid."  
Mia smiled and giggled. Then that giggle turned into a laugh. Riku smiled and laughed too.  
When they were finished laughing Riku was shocked. He hadn't laughed like that since before he went over to darkness. He hadn't even smiled much. But now this girl was making him laugh harder then he ever had before. He smiled at her and she smiled back.  
"Come on you two let's go!" Yuna called. 


	5. To Agrabah!

"Traveling through inner space gets boring after a while." Sora grumbled slumping back in his seat.  
"I for one am excited!" Mia said eagerly gazing out the window, "I've always wanted to travel to other worlds!"  
Riku's eyes widened. "You have?"  
"Oh yes! Ever since I was very young I've wanted to go exploring on an adventure like this! Now I'm living my dream!"  
Riku smiled. She wanted to see other worlds too. That was just like him.  
  
"We'll have to make a stop in Agrabah," Donald said looking at a map, "The ship doesn't have enough power to get us to Hollow Bastion in one trip."  
"Cool! It'll be great to see Aladdin again!" Sora said smiling. "I wonder how he's doing?"  
  
Riku smiled a leaned back in his chair. He heard Donald say that they'd be there in a few hours. Just enough time for him to get some sleep. He closed his eyes and drifted off into sleep.  
  
Riku was surrounded by darkness. He looked around nervously. He could see no trace of light anywhere. He could hardly see. It was so cold, like all the evil had sucked the warmth out of the room.  
  
Then suddenly all the darkness vanished. He could see Mia. She was glowing with a golden light and looked like an angel. She smiled sweetly at him. He started towards her then froze.  
He saw a large sword being raised behind her. It was brought down and slaughtered her. The light vanished and the darkness returned. She lie in her own blood, her eyes were wide open with shock.  
"WHAT THE HELL?!" Riku cried. He ran to her side and knelt by her. She was dead.  
  
"It had to be done," A voice whispered, "That girl held the key..."  
"The key to what?" Riku demanded, "Who are you? Why did you do this?"  
"Don't get to close to her, unless you want this nightmare to become reality." The voice hissed.  
"What do you mean don't get too close to her? WHO ARE YOU?!"  
  
"Riku!" Another voice called. He opened his eyes. He was back in the gummi ship's cockpit. Kairi had woken him up.  
"Get up you lazy bum," She joked, "We're here."  
Riku peered out the window. He could see a large palace in the distance. The buildings were made of stone. Below them he could see merchants yelling out for people to buy from them.  
  
"Guys," Sora said smiling, "Welcome to Agrabah."  
  
They exited the gummi ship from the outskirts of town, which was a big sandy spot with no buildings. It was the perfect place to hide the ship.  
  
"This place is too hot." Wakka gasped.  
"Anybody got water?" Rikku said wiping the sweat from her forehead.  
"Here." Mia said. She fished into her backpack and brought out some bottled water. Rikku smiled and mussed Mia's hair. "Thanks, you're alright kid."  
  
"What about me?!" Wakka yelled.  
"Sorry I'm out."  
"PERFECT!"  
Mia laughed and threw him another bottle of water. "Just kidding."  
  
"So where exactly does Aladdin live?" Lulu asked as they hurried down the streets of Agrabah.  
"He lives in a house near the entrance of the city." Sora explained, "Now you'll want to be careful in this city. A lot of the people here are thieves and crooks."  
"Not much difference between the two." Tidus laughed.  
  
They climbed up a pole and into a small room. It looked pretty humble, but there was a large window that looked right up at the palace.  
"WOW! What an amazing view!" Mia said smiling gazing up at the palace.  
"Yeah, it's impressive!" Yuna said nodding. She turned to Tidus. "I still can't believe that you forgot the camera." Tidus folded his arms.  
"I didn't forget! You just didn't want to go back to Traverse Town to get it!"  
"I wonder where Aladdin is?" Sora said looking around.  
"He's not here right now, please leave a message after the beep. BEEP!"  
Sora spun around and laughed. The genie was hovering above the ground.  
"Hey genie what's up? Are you enjoying freedom?"  
"I'm loving every minute of it." Genie said smiling.  
"Wait a minute!" Rikku cried, "He's an actual genie? Like the kind that grants wishes?"  
"He used to grant wishes, but he was freed." Sora explained, "So where is Aladdin?"  
"Probably out in the desert somewhere." Genie said shrugging.  
"Well we'll go to the cave of wonders to see Aladdin." Sora said grinning, "Won't he be surprised when he sees us!"  
"GOTCHA!" A voice yelled. Sora felt himself being thrown to the floor. Chains were slapped on his wrists. He saw the same thing was happening to everyone else except for   
Mia and Yuna.  
"Throw the group into the dungeons," A cold voice sneered, "But make sure that the summoner and the red-head get out alive!"  
Sora looked up and saw Jafar looming over them. A superior smirk was on his greedy soulless face.  
"MIA! YUNA! RUN FOR IT!" Riku yelled trashing with the guards that were restraining him.  
Mia and Yuna ran up to the large window looking out at the palace.  
"You let them go or we'll jump!" Yuna yelled.  
"We will?" Mia said shocked.  
Yuna winked. "Trust me." She whispered.  
Jafar sneered. "You're bluffing."  
Yuna grabbed Mia's arm and smiled. "I never bluff." The two of them both jumped out the window. A loud screech filled the air.  
A large bird flew down from the sky and caught Mia and Yuna on it's back.  
"All right! She summoned Valfor!" Wakka yelled grinning.  
Jafar looked surprised for a moment but that look quickly vanished. He held out his staff that was shaped like a snake. A gigantic orb flew out the end of it and struck Valfor. The Aeon gave a cry of pain and fell to the ground.  
  
"Go get the two before they recover from the fall." Jafar ordered two guards. They nodded and hurried off.  
"As for the rest of you, you can all join that street-rat friend of yours in the dungeons."  
Sora thrashed with his guard as he and the others were dragged outside.  
"Quit it kid!" The guard yelled, "We can do this the easy way or the hard way!"  
Sora felt something hard and heavy hit him in the back of the head.  
The last thing he heard before he blacked out was, "The easy way..." 


	6. KATIE!

Disclaimer: Ok I think I worded the last chapter badly. Genie did NOT help capture them. I'm sorry for any confusion I caused. My bad. Please keep the reviews coming guys!  
  
"I think he's coming to!" A voice called.  
Sora groaned and opened his eyes. He saw Kairi and Riku were both leaning over him. The others were behind them.  
"Step back you guys!" Donald cried waving his hands, "Give him some air!"  
"I'm ok." Sora said rubbing his head and sitting up.  
He looked around and noticed that two people were missing.  
"Hey, where are Mia and Yuna?" He asked.  
"Jafar's guards got them." Tidus said angrily, "We don't know where they are."  
"Don't worry about it, we'll get out of here." A voice from off in the corner said.  
Sora looked around and spotted a young boy with messy black hair wearing a purple vest and white pants leaning against the wall.  
"Aladdin! What are you doing here?"  
"I'm here for the same reason as you, Jafar caught me in the cave of wonders and brought me here."  
"What were you doing out there?"  
"Heartless were appearing in the streets so I thought the keyhole might have opened. I went to check it out and everything was fine. But when I left Jafar and his little cronies were waiting for me."  
  
Just then the dungeon doors flew open and two familiar people were thrown in.  
"Ow..." Mia moaned.  
"Yuna! Mia! Are you guys ok?" Tidus cried as he and the others ran up to them.  
"We're fine." Yuna said sitting up.  
"What happened up there?" Lulu asked kneeling in front of them and helping them to their feet.  
"Jafar said something about finally having all three pure-hearts. Then he said Maleficent was coming to get all three of us."  
"All three?" Donald whispered to Goofy, "But that must mean that Yuna is the second..."  
"And Mia is the first," Goofy finished for him, "But where's the third one?"  
"Hey! What are you two talking about?" Riku asked stepping up to them. Donald gulped.  
"No-nothing!"  
Riku grabbed Donald by the front of the shirt and lifted him up off the ground.  
"Donald, I don't wanna have to hurt you, but if I you don't tell me then I will!"  
"NO! King Mickey made us swear not to tell you about the pure-hearts!"  
"What are the pure-hearts?!" Riku yelled shaking him hard, "TELL ME!"  
"OH MY GOD! KATIE!" Mia screamed suddenly. She pointed up at the ceiling.  
  
There was a see-through grate that sealed off the lower and upper floors of the dungeon. A young girl was slumped against the upstairs wall. Her eyes looked blank and she couldn't move.  
"Katie! Don't you recognize me? It's Mia!" Mia cried reaching up for her. Riku grabbed her arm and pulled it back. He shook his head.  
"It's no good. Her heart has been stolen. She doesn't know you anymore. Look at her eyes Mia! She can't even see you!"  
Tears streaked down Mia's face. He was right. When Mia called her Katie didn't even look at her.  
"We've got to get her out of here anyway!" Donald yelled.  
"Right." Mia said wiping away her tears. But before anyone could do anything something grabbed Katie and dragged her out of the dungeon.  
"NO!" Mia cried. She sank to her knees. "No. Not again."  
"I've had enough of this." Riku hissed dropping Donald. He whipped out his Keyblade and broke the door down.  
"RUN!" He yelled as he took down one of the guards.  
  
Everyone bolted out of the dungeons and outside of the palace. They all took cover in an alley.  
"Well now what genius?" Sora asked Riku.  
"How should I know? Just lie low and let me think."  
  
"Well, well, well, look who's here. The Dream Team." A voice sneered.  
Sora looked up. Jafar was looming over them. He pointed at Mia.  
"You and the summoner will come with me now!"  
Riku stepped in front of Mia. "Over my dead body!"  
"That can be arranged you little traitor!"  
Riku narrowed his eyes. "How could I betray you, when I was never on your side to begin with?!"  
"You little fool!" Jafar yelled. He waved his staff. Riku was picked up by some invisible force and flung into a wall.  
Sora jumped up with his keyblade in hand.  
"Yuna, Mia!" He yelled, "You guys go through the exit on the upper ledge, we'll hold him off!"  
Riku sprang to his feet and pulled out his keyblade.  
"Leave it to me!" He called. Mia nodded and ran through the exit followed by Yuna.  
Everyone lunged at Jafar. Tidus, Riku, Sora, and Kairi swung their swords at him while Wakka pelted him with his blitzball. Lulu zapped him with Thunderga and Rikku threw grenades at him.  
Jafar flew into the air. A look of rage was on his face.  
"This is not done yet boy!" He yelled. He vanished in a wisp of smoke.  
Everyone ran out into the now empty marketplace. They saw Mia was still up on a ledge while Yuna was on the ground. Several heartless were prowling around the ground underneath the ledge.  
  
"I managed to get to the ground. A few of those heartless came after me but most of them seemed to want Mia." Yuna explained.  
Riku jumped forward and slashed the heartless in half.  
"Come on!" He called, "You can jump!"  
"I can't! I'm afraid of heights!" She cried.  
"Oh for Petes sake!" Donald moaned.  
"Do you trust me?" Riku called.  
"Huh?" Mia said sounding puzzled.  
"I said do you trust me?"  
"...Yes."  
"Then I promise you'll be alright!"  
"Ok, I'll jump."  
But before Mia could move, Jafar's pet bird, Iago, flew done at her face. She screamed and swatted at it. She lost her balance and fell into a large clay pot below. It sprouted legs and began to run away.  
"After it!" Riku yelled. But as he spoke more of the pot spiders formed and surrounded the first one.  
They hacked and slashed at the monsters but none of them contained Mia.  
Then Sora noticed one jumping up the ledges just out of reach. Mia's screams could be heard coming from inside.  
"STRIKE RAID!" Sora yelled. He flung his keyblade at the pot like a boomerang. The pot shattered in mid-jump and Mia fell out screaming.  
Riku jumped forward and caught her in his arms. For a moment the two just stared at each other. Then Riku quickly set her down. Both of them were blushing furiously.  
  
"Are you okay?" Yuna cried running towards Mia.  
"Boy! Your face is beet-red!" Rikku said smiling.  
"Yours too!" Tidus said pointing at Riku and laughing.  
"SHUT UP!" Riku snapped covering his face.  
"Thanks for saving me Riku." Mia said smiling. He nodded.  
"Anytime."  
  
"Jafar is still a genie," Sora said pacing back and forth in Aladdin's house, "Even he couldn't have flown unless he were one."  
"If we could just destroy his lamp then he would be defeated for good." Riku said frowning, "But where would he keep it?"  
"May I make a suggestion?" Genie asked, "He must keep it in the palace, he knows it isn't safe in the cave of wonders."  
"Then he must keep it in the throne room, if we could just sneak in there then we could destroy him without a fight!" Aladdin said smiling.  
"We could have Valfor fly us up there at night!" Yuna cried.  
"We need to be careful though," Tidus said frowning, "Jafar controls the castle as long as he's got the sultan in the dungeon. If we get caught then we could be beheaded!"  
  
They flew up to the highest central tower in silence. They hovered outside the throne room and peered in. A black lamp was sitting on a stand inside. Mia started to get off Valfor and climb in the window.  
"What are you doing?!" Lulu hissed, "Get back down before someone sees you!"  
"It's safer if I'M seen," Mia whispered, "If Jafar found any one of you guys he'd have you killed on the spot. But for some reason he needs me alive. If I get caught then it'll give you guys some time to escape."  
Riku nodded. "It makes sense. Good luck."  
  
Mia crept into the room. It seemed empty.  
"Good," She thought to herself, "All I have to do is grab the lamp and bring it outside so we can get rid of it."  
She came up to the lamp and picked it up. It was cold and had the powers of darkness coming from it. She shuddered and put it into her pocket. She began to creep back to the window.  
"Going somewhere?" A voice sneered. Mia felt something grab her wrist and the feeling of a dagger against her throat.  
"Today must be my lucky day." Jafar sneered, "Maleficent isn't happy that I lost you and the other pure-heart. But I suppose it will make up for it when I deliver her the leader of the pure-hearts!"  
"DROP HER!" Riku yelled springing in the window. Jafar laughed.  
"Don't tell me you actually have feelings for this girl? Well it doesn't matter what you feel. She is the leader of the pure-hearts. Therefore there can never be anything between the two of you!"  
"Shut your ugly face!" Riku yelled. He lunged at him. Jafar dropped Mia and pulled out his staff. Then Mia saw Sora and the others climbing in. She fished out the lamp.  
"SORA!" She screamed throwing it to him.  
Sora reached out and caught it.  
"NOOOOO!" Jafar roared. He turned on Mia and raised his staff in rage. "I'LL KILL YOU SLOW!"  
Sora raised his keyblade and brought it down on the lamp. It shattered into a million pieces.  
"ARGGGGH!" Jafar cried as his face began to melt. He body burst into flames and turned into dust. Then that dust blew away in the wind.  
  
Jafar was gone. Forever.  
  
The next day the sultan returned to power. The guards that had captured Sora and the others were locked in the dungeons. The sultan rewarded sora and the others.  
  
"You and your friends are always welcome here." The sultan said beaming.  
"Maybe we'll come back later, but right now we're on a quest." Sora said nodding.  
"Smell you later Sora!" Genie called.  
"We'll see you guys later too." Sora said laughing.  
"What I don't understand is how the heartless came to this world if the keyhole wasn't open." Kairi said frowning.  
"They must have been artificial heartless, like the kinds that Ansem made. But he's dead, isn't he?" Goofy said frowning.  
"I don't know you guys," Riku said sitting down in his seat it the cockpit, "I really don't know." 


	7. I won't say it!

"Where next?" Sora asked looking over the map.  
"We need to stop at Olympus Coliseum for the night." Donald responded.  
"According to this radar there are no heartless in that world." Rikku said looking over the computer screen.  
"That'll save us a lot of time." Riku said nodding. He looked over at Mia who was scribbling something in her notebook.  
"What are you doing?"  
"I'm making a log of this whole trip. One day I might make it into a book or something."  
Yuna looked through the log. "How come on every page you end each entry with a flower drawing?"  
Mia shrugged. "I love flowers."  
  
They reached the coliseum at sunset. They were greeted by Hercules and his pal Phil.  
"Sora! We were wondering when our top fighter was coming back." Hercules said slapping Sora on the back causing him to fall over.  
"Good to see you again too Herc." Sora said standing up, "We need a place to stay the night."  
"No problem, you guys can stay in the gardens behind the coliseum." Phil said nodding.  
  
They entered the gardens. It was full of white flowers growing everywhere. On the far side they could see a fountain.  
Everyone sat down and began to discuss what Riku had been threatening Donald about.  
  
"Donald, what exactly are the pure-hearts?" Sora asked.  
Donald sighed. "Ok here it goes. The pure-hearts are three maidens that are supposed to have no darkness in their hearts. It is said that if these three girls are ever brought together then that power could be harnessed and used for good or evil."  
"So basically Mia and Yuna are two of the three right?" Riku asked.  
"Yes."  
"What about the third?"  
Donald took a deep breath. "It's Katie."  
Riku saw Mia's face go white.  
"That's why I didn't want Mia to come along," Donald sighed, "I knew that Maleficent would be trying to capture her."  
"Well I came," Mia said standing up, "And I'm staying!"  
She turned and walked towards the fountain. She sat down on a stone bench in front of it and sighed. She imagined what Katie would say if she were here:  
"What?! Mia a pure-heart?! She can barely use her sword!"  
  
"Hey Mia." A voice said. She looked up and saw Riku.  
"Oh hi Riku." She said sadly. She gazed into the water of the fountain.  
"Are you okay?" He asked. His voice was full of concern.  
"No." She said bluntly, "I'm just surprised by all this."  
"Me too." Riku said shrugging. He leaned towards the bushes and picked a white flower and handed it to her.  
"Here, I read about this flower once. It's called the Lumir flower, it's supposed to never die no matter how little water or sunlight it gets."  
Mia stared at the flower and smiled. "Why are you giving this to me?"  
Riku shrugged. "You said you like flowers and you seemed depressed." With that he turned around and left.  
  
Mia smiled and happily and sat down and gazed at the flower. Then she heard a noise behind her.  
  
"So how was it?"  
"Is he a good kisser?"  
Mia blushed. Yuna and Rikku emerged from their hiding spots. Rikku pointed and laughed.  
  
"Mia's blushing! I guess that's a yes!"  
"What? We did NOT kiss!"  
"Sure you didn't." Yuna teased. Mia blushed even more.  
"Don't you get it Mia?" Rikku said smiling.  
"Get what?"  
"You're in love with Riku!"  
  
"I AM NOT!"  
"Yes you are!" They both objected.  
"And he's in love with you too!" Rikku added pointing at the flower in Mia's hand. "I'm surprised he didn't kiss you!"  
Mia stood up angrily. "It doesn't matter if we like each other or not!" She spun the flower in her hand and flicked it behind her. Yuna reached out and caught it.  
  
~I Won't Say I'm in Love~  
  
Mia: *singing* If there's a prize for rotten judgment, I guess I've already won that. No boy is worth the aggravation.  
  
*Music Starts*  
  
Mia: That's ancient history, been there, done that.  
  
*Yuna and Rikku start to sing*  
  
Both: *singing* Who yah think yah kiddin'? He's the earth and heaven to you! Try to keep it hidden, Honey we can see right through you.  
  
Mia: Ohhhh noooooooo...  
  
Both: Girl, you can't keep it a secret, we know how u feel and who u thinking of...  
*Yuna tries to hand the flower back to Mia but she rejects it*  
  
Mia: Ohh, no no no. No chance! No way! I won't say it, no no.  
  
Both: You swoon you sigh, why deny it...oh oh.  
  
Mia: Its too cliché, I won't say I'm in lovveeeee  
*Walks to the other side of fountain and gazes into water*  
Mia: I thought my heart had learned It's lesson, It feels so good when yah start out...  
  
Both: La la la  
  
Mia: My head is screaming get a grip girl! Unless you're dying to cry your heart out! Ohhh noo...  
  
Both: You keep on denying, who you are and how you feeling. Baby, were not buying. Hon, we saw yah hit the ceiling.  
  
Mia: OOOoooo Noooooo...  
  
Both: Face it like a grown up, when you're on your own up and yah  
  
Rikku: got  
  
Yuna: got  
  
Both: got it badddd...  
  
Mia: ohh no nooo oooo. No chance, no way, I won't say it, no no!  
  
Both: Give up or give in.  
  
Yuna: Check the grin, you're in lovvveee!  
  
*Mia angrily folds arms and sits down on stone bench again*  
  
Mia: This scene won't play! *Covers ears* I won't say I'm in lovvvvveeeee!!!  
  
Both: Your doing flips, read our lips you're in love!  
  
Mia: *lets go of ears* You're way off base! I won't say it!  
  
Both: She won't say enough!  
  
Mia: Get off my case! I won't say it!  
*Yuna hands her the flower*  
  
Both: Girl don't be proud, it's ok you're in love.  
  
Mia: *smiles at flower and sings softly* Ohhhhh, at least out loud...I won't say I'm in...looovvvveee. *She lies down on the bench still holding flower and closes eyes*  
  
Both: shall la la la la la...aaaaaaaaaaa.   
  
~Song ends~  
  
Yuna and Rikku both grinned and left the sleeping Mia lying on the bench.  
"I had a feeling those two liked each other." Yuna said smiling.  
"It took a musical to convince her! Pretty weird huh Yunie?"  
Yuna nodded. "I didn't know I was that good a singer! You too Rikku! Those high notes were pretty decent!"  
  
They came back to the spot where everyone else was waiting.  
"How is Mia?" Kairi asked.  
"She's fine." Yuna said nodding, "The whole thing was just too much of a shock to her. She needs to be alone for a little while."  
  
"You seem to be taking it well." Lulu said frowning. Yuna shrugged.  
"Well she's got a lot on her mind right now. I mean with Katie missing and her being a pure-heart and everything else...it's tougher for her than me."  
  
"What did Jafar mean when he said that Mia is the leader of the pure-hearts?" Riku asked.  
"According to legend, there's supposed to be one pure-heart who's stronger than the other two. It is also said that her fate will shape the destiny of the universe."  
  
Riku sighed and looked to the side. "So that's what he meant..."  
"What did you say?" Tidus asked.  
"Hmm? Oh nothing, nothing at all."  
But he understood now what Jafar had meant when he said that there could be nothing between himself and Mia. Her destiny was too important for him. He couldn't interfere. For he knew that a time would come when her destiny would shape the fortunes of all.  
Riku lie down and slipped into sleep.  
  
"Having girl trouble, aren't you Riku?" A voice sneered.  
"Huh? Who's there?" He yelled into the darkness around him.  
"Jafar was right you know. That girl is no good for you. Stay away from her, she's too important in my plan."  
"WHO'S THERE?!" Riku demanded.  
"I'm trying to warn you. Just take this one word of advice from me, don't fall in love with her!"  
Riku sighed. "Too late."  
"I see. Well then, your heart will be shattered soon. I must take measures to keep this from happening..."  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
Riku jolted awake. The sun had now risen and everyone else was starting to get up too.  
He saw Mia returning from the fountain. She was yawning.  
  
"Good morning guys." She said smiling. "Where are we headed today?"  
"We can get moving today," Donald said looking over the map, "I made arrangements for Peter Pan to pick us up on the pirate ship. He'll drop us and the gummi ship off in Deep Jungle for the night, and then it's just a quick ride to Hollow Bastion."  
  
After saying goodbye to Hercules and Phil everyone climbed into the gummi ship and sped off.  
Mia had quit looking out the windows in excitement. She sat down in her seat bored to death just like everyone else.  
Hours of sheer boredom and lots of cabin fever outbursts would ensue.  
  
"WE'VE GOT CABIN FEVER! LOST WHAT SENSE WE HAD!" Everyone sang for the 50th time.  
"WE'VE GOT CABIN FEVER! AND WE'RE ALL GOING MAD!"  
Finally Lulu stood up and screamed. "QUIET!!!!"  
Everyone sat down timidly. "Sorry." 


	8. The Return of a Heart

Finally a large pirate ship came into view.  
  
The gummi ship landed on the deck of the ship. A boy welcomed them with messy red hair accompanied by a fairy.  
"Hey Sora! I wondered when I'd be seeing you again!"  
"Yo Pete! Wazzup?"  
"What?"  
"Sorry."  
Tidus noticed that Peter was hovering above the ground. He fainted.  
"Better bring him inside." Yuna said rolling her eyes.  
  
Meanwhile in Hollow Bastion...  
  
Maleficent smiled and clutched her staff in her hand. Two heartless dragged in a young girl with brownish-red hair. Her head rolled from one side of her shoulders to the other. They lay her on a stone slab in the center of the room. Two other slabs were to it's left. Maleficent raised her staff and began to mutter the incantation.  
"Yato mi! Yato mi! Yato mi!"  
The girl's eyes snapped open. She sat upright.  
"SLOTH! I'M GONNA KICK YOUR ASS!" She screamed. She looked around.  
"Hey, this isn't virtupets space station...this is this a pretty castle chamber..." She said sounding dazed. Maleficent stared at her strangely.  
"Who are you?" Katie asked still sounding stupid.  
"Maleficent."  
"I see...WHERE THE FUCK IS MY SWORD?!"  
"In the corner." Maleficent said calmly pointing at a purple sword with a red handle.   
Katie dove forward and grabbed it. She swung it at Maleficent. Suddenly she felt herself being lifted off the ground and lowered onto the stone slab again.  
"You must know by now that I'm a pure-heart right?" Katie hissed. She was unable to move because of a spell.  
"Right, once I gather the three of you then the heartless will become unstoppable!"  
"You already know? ...MIA!"  
"Stupefy!" Maleficent yelled. Katie felt herself growing drowsy before she slipped off into an enchanted sleep.  
  
Riku stood out on the deck of the ship. He leaned against the outside of the cabin's wall. Everyone else was inside. Tidus hadn't regained consciousness yet. He felt the salty sea wind blow through his silvery hair.  
  
He looked towards the bow of the ship. He could see Mia looking out at the water. He walked up to her.  
"What are you looking at?" He asked. Mia pointed at the sky.  
"I'm looking at the moon." She sighed, "It just seems so beautiful while we're out at sea like this. It looks like a beacon of hope surrounded by despair."  
Riku smiled. He loved how Mia could make everything positive seem like a miracle.  
"But you know..." She looking down at the water, "When you look at the moon's reflection in the water it looks like a big evil eye staring straight up at us."  
Riku smiled and picked up a rock. "You want me to make it disappear for you?"  
She stared at him. "Huh?"  
Riku threw the stone out into the water. It hit the reflection of the moon and it vanished.  
Mia smiled. "Hey thanks!" She walked away from the side of the ship. She spread her arms in a wide arc over her head.  
"The world really is a beautiful place." She said sighing, "I used to think that people were afraid of darkness and they only stayed in the light because of their fear. But when I meet you, I saw everything in a whole new light. I'm really glad I met you Riku."  
"Me too Mia." He said smiling. He sighed. He knew he needed to be honest with her about his feelings. After all, she had said she trusted him.  
"When I first met you Mia, I felt like part of my heart had been ripped out. I never laughed or smiled. I felt that everything was pointless. But you changed me and my outlook on life." He took a deep breath and blurted it out. "You're really special to me Mia."  
She stared at him. "I see...so why are you telling me this now...so suddenly?"  
Riku slapped himself on the forehead. "Sorry, I said the wrong thing again didn't I?"  
Mia nodded. "Uh-huh. Listen, it's getting kind of chilly over here, I think I'll go stand near the stern." With those words she turned and walked to the end of the boat. Riku sighed.  
"Never goes the way I want it to..."  
Mia leaned against the back wall of the cabin and sighed.  
"That Riku...who does he think he is? Just blurting out his feelings like that..."  
Mia stood up straight. "Why am I dwelling on what he said to me? I don't have the same feelings as him...do I?" 


	9. Riku's Love

The next day they set out for Deep Jungle.  
"Where's the landing area?" Tidus asked peering out the window.  
"I don't know! All's I can see is trees!" Donald cried.  
"Where should we land?!"  
"I don't know!"  
"Well this was your idea!!!"  
"AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" Everyone screamed as the ship landed with a crash in the treetops.  
  
That night everyone set up camp. They sat around the campfire discussing what had happened.  
"So tomorrow we go to Hollow Bastion right?" Tidus asked. Riku nodded.  
"Yeah, lots of bad memories for me back there."  
Mia looked at him curiously. "What do you mean?"   
Riku sighed. "It's nothing, nothing at all."  
Mia looked at him angrily. "It's definitely something if it gives you bad memories! I can't believe that everyone knows but me!"  
"Mia listen..."  
"NO! YOU LISTEN! I'M SICK OF JUST RUNNING AROUND AND PLAYING HERO! I WANT TO SAVE KATIE! I WANT TO GO HOME! BUT NONE OF YOU COULD UNDERSTAND HOW I FEEL! EVER!"  
She got up and ran into the forest crying.  
Riku was stunned. Those words had cut through his heart like a knife. He DID understand how she felt He knew what it was like to have a friend lose their heart to the heartless.  
"DAMNIT!" He thought to himself, "WHY DIDN'T I JUST TELL HER? IT'S CAUSE I'M AN ASSHOLE! THAT'S WHY!"  
"I'll go get her." He sighed, "I'm the one she's mad at."  
He got up and went into the forest. Rikku rolled her eyes.  
"Oh yeah! Perfect excuse to go see her."  
"What do you mean?" Sora asked.  
"Don't you get it?"  
"Get what?"  
Rikku rolled her eyes and leaned back. "Boys..."  
  
Riku searched through the forest for some sign of Mia. He heard a soft crying noise coming from the lagoon. He pushed back some bushes and saw Mia sitting on a log next to the water crying in her hands.  
"Mia?" He whispered. She looked up and sighed.  
"Oh, hello Riku."  
"Mia...please don't hate me."  
"I don't hate you Riku. Far from it." With that she stood up and began to walk across a log hanging over the water. There was a loud snap and the log broke in two. She screamed and fell in.  
"MIA!" He yelled. He jumped in after her. He scanned the water's surface for any trace of her. Suddenly something splashed his face. He spun around and laughed.  
Mia was standing there smiling at him. He splashed her back. They both laughed.  
  
*When these appear a song is playing*  
  
~Can You Feel the Love Tonight?~  
  
* There's a calm surrender  
To the rush of day  
When the heat of the rolling wind  
Can be turned away  
An enchanted moment  
And it sees me through  
It's enough for this restless warrior  
Just to be with you.*  
  
Mia and Riku both staggered out of the water soaking wet and still laughing.  
  
* (Chorus)  
And can you feel the love tonight?  
It is where we are  
It's enough for this wide-eyed wanderer  
That we've got this far  
And can you feel the love tonight  
How it's laid to rest?  
It's enough to make kings and vagabonds  
Believe the very best*  
  
Riku: *thinking* So many things to tell her  
But how to make her see  
The truth about my past? Impossible.  
She'd turn away from me.   
  
Mia: *thinking*He's holding back, he's hiding.  
But what? I can't decide.  
Why won't simply tell me what he's feeling?  
Feeling deep inside.  
  
* (Chorus)  
And can you feel the love tonight?  
It is where we are  
It's enough for this wide-eyed wanderer  
That we've got this far  
And can you feel the love tonight  
How it's laid to rest?  
It's enough to make kings and vagabonds  
Believe the very best*  
  
Mia looked up at Riku and smiled. Happiness reflected off her face. She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. He couldn't help blushing. He looked back at her and smiled.  
  
* There's a time for everyone  
If they only learn  
That the twisting kaleidoscope  
Moves us all in turn  
There's a rhyme and reason  
To the wild outdoors  
When the heart of this star-crossed voyager  
Beats in time with yours*  
  
Both of them leaned towards each other and kissed on the lips.  
  
(Chorus)  
And can you feel the love tonight?  
It is where we are  
It's enough for this wide-eyed wanderer  
That we got this far  
And can you feel the love tonight  
How it's laid to rest?  
It's enough to make kings and vagabonds  
Believe the very best  
  
It's enough to make kings and vagabonds  
Believe the very best*  
  
~Song Ends~  
  
Mia hugged Riku.  
He sighed.  
  
"Mia, do you really want to know why Donald and Goofy were mad at me? Do you want to know why I hate Maleficent so much? Do you want to know why I have bad memories at Hollow Bastion?"  
"Yes." She said firmly.   
  
He told her everything there was to know. About how he'd gone over to the dark side in an attempt to save Kairi, how he'd tried to kill his own friends, and how a dark wizard named Ansem had possessed his body and used him to regain physical form.  
  
When he had finished telling Mia was silent. Then Riku noticed she was smiling.  
"Why are you smiling about this?" He asked.  
She looked up at him and smiled. "It amuses me that you thought I would hate you for this, but the odd thing is that I don't."  
"But I don't get it..."  
"Listen," Mia said interrupting him, "It doesn't matter who you WERE, you can't fake the kind of good person that you really are. I understand why you went over to the dark side, you were trying to save your friends and things got out of hand, you're not like that anymore Riku."  
"We better get back to camp. They'll start to worry about us."  
"Right."  
They both got off the log that they'd been sitting on and started back to camp.  
As they walked Riku noticed that Mia seemed to be thinking hard about something.  
"A penny for your thoughts?" He asked.  
"Hmmm? Oh! I was just wondering if I'm too young to be sure of something."  
"Like what?"  
"Nothing, just wondering."  
  
When they reached camp. Everyone was waiting for them.  
"What took you so long?" Sora asked, "And why are you soaking wet?"  
Riku shrugged. "Mia fell in the lagoon and I dove in to see if she was ok."  
"SURE that's what happened." Rikku said rolling her eyes.  
Mia shook her head. "Don't confuse me Rikku, well I'm turning in. Good night everyone." She went inside her tent and closed the flap.  
"So did you tell her how you went over to the dark side?" Kairi asked. Riku nodded.  
"Of course I did."  
"And...how'd she take it?" Sora asked drawing in a sharp breath.  
"She wasn't mad or anything, she said it wasn't important to her who I was, it's who I am now that concerns her." Riku said ignoring the looks of shock on everyone else's faces.  
  
As the night wore on one by one everyone went inside there own tents until only Riku and Tidus were left sitting by the fire.  
"So, what's the deal between you and Mia? You really like her don't you?"  
Riku spat out the water he'd been drinking in shock. He stared at Tidus and sighed. "That may be the understatement of the century."  
"So you love her?"  
"I'm not sure if it's love or not, all I know is that I've never felt this way before."  
"Well while you're racking your brain trying to convince yourself I'll be asleep. 'Night Riku." He got up and left.  
Riku sighed. "Is it love?" He thought, "Am I in love with Mia?"  
Riku shook his head and sighed. "I won't think about it now. I'll decide tomorrow if I do."  
He lay down on the ground and fell asleep  
"Hello Romeo." The cold voice sneered again.  
"SHUT UP AND LEAVE ME ALONE!" Riku yelled.  
"But I can't leave you alone, I can never leave. Riku, you and me are one person!"  
"Tell me now! Who are you and why do you want to keep me away from Mia?"  
"I am your dark side Riku."  
"I HAVE NO DARK SIDE!"  
"Everyone has a dark side, but unlike darkness in other people's souls I've been given a mind of my own because YOU went over to darkness!"  
"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" Riku screamed sinking to his knees and covering his ears.  
To his amazement it stopped.  
  
He looked around. He could see Mia standing a few feet away from him. She had her back turned.  
"MIA!" He yelled, but he was cut off. The same sword from his first night was raised above Mia's head. It was brought down and slashed her. She lie once again in her own blood.  
  
"HOW CAN YOU DO THIS?!" Riku screamed to the darkness.  
"Once darkness taints your heart it will NEVER leave you! You thought this girl had the power to save you from your own trap. You were right. That is why she must die, your love for her will kill her eventually."  
  
Riku jerked awake. Sweat poured down his forehead. He couldn't believe it. Mia would die...because of his love for her?  
Riku looked down at the dying embers of the campfire. He knew what he must do. If he truly cared about Mia then this was the only way to keep her safe from darkness.  
He walked over to the gummi ship and activated the ship's computer. He instructed it to make a smaller version of the ship. It had to be small enough for him to leave by himself.  
  
He grabbed a few potions and threw them into the new ship.  
Before he left he walked over to Mia's tent and peered inside. She was lying there sleeping soundly. He leaned over and kissed her cheek.  
He climbed into the smaller ship and shot into the air.  
  
Mia awoke the next morning. She yawned and stretched out her arms. She climbed out of the tent and went and sat by the campfire. After a few minutes everyone else came out and joined her.  
  
"Anybody see Riku?" Sora asked looking around.  
"I haven't seen him since last night." Goofy said shrugging.  
Wakka got up and checked Riku's tent. He came back holding a piece of paper in his hands. His face was white.  
  
"Guys, you may want to look at this."  
Mia snatched the note from him and read it out loud.  
  
"You will never see me again."  
  
-Riku  
  
"Why?!" Sora cried, "Why would he just run off like that? It doesn't make any sense!"  
"Well, we've got to go find him!" Mia said standing up.  
  
"I'm afraid that's out of the question." Donald said firmly, "We have to get to Hollow Bastion NOW and stop the heartless. Besides, I'm sure Riku's gone there to confront his past or something."  
"But..." Mia protested.  
  
"Riku has chosen his own path, now we must follow ours." Lulu said. Everyone but Mia started walking towards the gummi ship.  
Mia reread the note. Tears filled her eyes. Would she ever see him again? 


	10. Return to Darkness

"Of all the things to come back and bite me in the ass this is the worst!" Riku thought out loud.  
He was floating through the inter space between worlds. He wasn't going to land anywhere. That way they wouldn't be able to track him. He leaned back in his chair. By now they must've found that note he'd left for them. He wondered what their reaction had been. Well there was no way of finding out now.  
  
He sighed and closed his eyes. Maybe now he could get some sleep. Maybe his dark side would leave him alone. Maybe.  
He drifted off into sleep.  
  
"So you thought you could just run away from your problems didn't you?" His dark side sneered.  
"Hey I did what you wanted me to do didn't I?" Riku snapped, "I left Mia behind, she's safer if I'm not there."  
  
"Oh is she really?" Another voice sneered. His dark side vanished and another voice took its place.  
"Who are you?" Riku asked.  
"That does not matter, you should never trust your dark side it will only deceive you."  
"What do you mean?" Riku asked dreading the answer.  
  
"Your dark side was trying to lure you away from Mia! Her life is in danger now that you are no longer there to protect her!"  
"YOU LIAR!" Riku yelled.  
"How could your love possibly kill her? I will show you the truth now. Look into this orb."  
  
A large spinning golden orb appeared in the center of the room. It was then that Riku got a good look at the speaker. He was wearing golden and white robes and a hood hid his face. A golden light surrounded him. Riku looked into the orb and gasped.  
  
He could see his friends. They were at the entrance of Hollow Bastion fighting a swarm of Heartless. Lulu, Wakka, Tidus, and Kairi had all been knocked out while Sora, Yuna and Mia struggled to defeat them. But something was different about these Heartless. They seemed much stronger.  
  
Finally Sora was knocked to the ground. Two other Heartless grabbed Yuna and Mia and lifted them into the air screaming and flew off with them.  
Then the little movie ended.  
  
"Quick! Do something! Save them!" Riku cried to the figure.  
"I can't Riku, but YOU can! You must fly to Hollow Bastion and save your friends before it is too late. Go quickly!"  
"Right! Thanks!" Riku turned and started to run off but he stopped and turned around to face the figure. "But before I go, I have to ask this, who are you?"  
The figure smiled and floated off the ground. "I am your light side."  
Riku grinned. "I knew it!"  
  
The two girls were both dragged into the chamber and laid down on two separate slabs of stone. Yuna lay to the left, Katie lay on the right, and Mia was on the middle stone.  
Maleficent smiled.  
"Finally, I have all three pure-hearts before me! The final incantation shall be uttered and the life force of these three maidens will be sapped from their bodies. I shall use that power to create a heart for the heartless! Then they will become unstoppable!"  
She waved her staff and began to mutter the spell.  
  
Riku jumped off the gummi ship and was immediately confronted by a group of heartless. He had resolve burning in his heart. He killed all of them without mercy. He continued along the path to the castle. He ran as fast as his legs would carry him slashing through Heartless as he ran.  
  
"Just a little longer Mia." He thought to himself, "I'll kill Maleficent and save you. I promise."  
Suddenly a huge heartless sprang out of nowhere and knocked him off the path to the castle. He fell down to the icy chambers below.  
  
Riku felt himself slam down onto cold hard ice. He sprang up and ran towards the exit. He needed to get back up there now!  
"Are you going somewhere?" A voice hissed out of the darkness. He spun around. A hooded figure was standing there.  
"Of course I'm going somewhere!" Riku yelled. That voice sounded so familiar.  
"You are not strong enough to save Mia." The figure whispered. "There is only one way to be strong enough, you must reopen you heart to darkness!"  
"NO WAY!" Riku yelled. He wouldn't! He just couldn't! After everything that had happened...he'd come to far to go back to darkness.  
"You must, it is the only way to keep her life-force from being drained."  
"What?" Riku asked in horror.  
"She's dying, right now as we speak her life-force is slipping away. You were willing to risk darkness for Kairi why not Mia?"  
  
Riku was horrified. All this had happened just because he ran away. It was his fault. It was time to make everything right again. He closed his eyes and outstretched his hands and allowed darkness to sweep over him like a flood.  
  
Sora and the others burst into the castle cathedral. They spotted Maleficent.  
"YOU!" Sora yelled. His voice was full of anger.  
"Me." Maleficent said evilly.  
She stepped towards them. That's when Tidus noticed that Mia, Yuna, and Katie were lying on separate stone slabs just behind her.  
"YUNA!" He yelled. Maleficent laughed.  
"Don't bother. Your voice can no longer reach her where she is. An enchanted sleep has been placed on her, she cannot wake up."  
"What are you planning to do with our friends?" Rikku yelled. Her face was red with anger.  
"It's quite simple really. You see this?" She said tapping a large glass heart. It had three chambers in it. Two of the chambers were full but one was only half full. "This is a magic heat that I constructed. The heartless will all share this heart. The summoner and Katie have already lost all their life force but they will not die until the last pure-heart has been sapped. When the heart is complete then the heartless will become unstoppable! Even the keyblade will be useless!"  
Sora gripped the keyblade tightly and started towards her but he felt a hand on his shoulder stop him.  
"No Sora, leave this one to me." A voice said firmly. Sora spun around. Riku was standing there holding his keyblade. He was wearing the same dark outfit with a heartless insignia on it that he wore when he'd been evil.  
  
"Riku...you didn't...you sold your soul...again."  
"Sorry buddy." Riku said sadly, "But this is something I have to take care of."  
Riku started towards Maleficent. She laughed.  
"You think you can beat ME? You can't just walk away from darkness. I know that you think you can, but you CAN'T!"  
"I'm here to save Mia, that's all that I want." Riku hissed. His voice had a poisonous tone to it.  
"Take her if you can!"  
Riku lunged at her but Maleficent was ready. She formed a shield in front of herself and Riku bounced off the top. He landed on his feet and swung his sword at her.  
A long battle raged on and both foes seemed equally matched, but every time Riku felt weak he would look over at Mia and his strength was renewed. Finally with one powerful blow he severed her arm.  
  
"ARGGGGGGHHHH!!!!!!!!!" She screamed in agony.  
"Now stand aside or I'll take off your head!" Riku ordered.  
Maleficent narrowed her eyes and stepped to the side, still clutching the bloody stump that had been her arm.  
Riku started towards Mia. He would get her free first, then he would save Yuna and Katie.  
But as he reached out to pick her up from the slab an electric shock ran through his body and launched him back into the wall.  
"What gives?!" He yelled wiping blood from a corner in his mouth.  
"The spell I put on her keeps anyone but me from removing her from that platform! She will be dead in just a few minutes!" Maleficent laughed.  
Riku's mind raced frantically. He had to think of something that could save her. But what? He looked at the glass heart that was slowly filling with Mia's life force.  
"Soon you will share that one heart along with the heartless. Your heart will be completely dark and you won't even remember that girl who you sold your soul for!" Maleficent continued.  
  
That's when it hit Riku. The heart! If he could just destroy it then all the life force would go back into Mia and the others. But he now shared that heart with the heartless. What would happen to him if it were destroyed?  
He looked over at Mia. He had no choice.  
  
He lifted his sword and slumped towards the heart.  
"What are you doing?!" Maleficent shrieked.  
"THIS!" Riku yelled. He brought the keyblade down on top of the glass heart. It shattered into a million pieces. There was a flash of light and Maleficent exploded into nothingness.  
  
A golden light surrounded Yuna, Katie, and Mia. Yuna sat up; a few seconds later Katie did the same.  
Riku felt a sharp pain in his chest. He looked down at his hands. They were becoming transparent. He fell to the ground and gasped for air.  
  
"RIKU!!!" A voice screamed. Mia had gotten up. Her eyes widened with terror at the site of Riku beginning to vanish. She ran over and knelt by him.  
"NO! Riku! You can't die now! There's so much I want to tell you!"  
He looked up at her and forced a weak smile. Everyone else ran up towards him.  
  
"Sora," Riku choked, "I want you to keep an eye on Mia for me when I'm gone."  
Sora nodded sadly. "Two eyes, whenever I can spare them."  
Riku smiled. "Thanks buddy, and Mia I just wanted to say that I love..." Suddenly he gave one last shuddering gasp and vanished.  
  
Mia stretched out her hands where he'd been, as if he would suddenly reappear. But nothing happened he was gone. 


	11. The Villian Is Unveiled!

"Riku..." She whispered, "Are you really...gone? NO! NO I WON'T LET HIM GO!"  
"Hello? Are you completely unaware that I've been revived?" Katie yelled.  
"Huh? Oh hi Katie." Mia said without any emotion. "By the way, Carolyn says she's gonna kick your ass when she finds you."  
"Yo-you met Carolyn?" Katie gasped. "OH GOOD GRACIOUS GOD! SHE'S IN SIDEKICK ABUSING MODE!"  
"What's sidekick abusing mode?" Wakka asked.  
"You know how Batman gets when Robin doesn't give him his coffee?"  
"Who's Batman? What's coffee?"  
"Batman's a hooded freak and coffee gets you hyper! Anyway it's like that, except when I don't do as she says she doesn't get mad or scream. Instead, she puts her foot up my ass!"  
"O...k."  
"I knew she was psycho." Lulu mumbled.  
"OH! No she's not crazy, she's really nice! She's just got a bit of a...short fuse?"  
  
"CAN WE PLEASE COME BACK TO REALITY?!" Mia shrieked. "IN CASE NONE OF YOU NOTICED RIKU IS DEAD!! DON'T YOU CARE ABOUT THAT?!"  
"Of course we care Mia!" Sora cried, "Riku has been my best friend since I was a kid and now he's gone!"  
"THEN START ACTING LIKE YOU MISS HIM!"  
  
CRASH!  
  
The wall behind them had collapsed and a huge swarm of heatless flooded into the room.  
"RUN FOR IT!" Donald cried.  
"Move it Mia!" Katie cried. Mia didn't move. She was too full of shock and grief. She'd only had a few moments with Riku and she never got to tell him how much he meant to her.  
Finally Yuna, Lulu, and Rikku grabbed Mia and dragged her behind them.  
  
They reached the main hall of the castle. The heartless followed them closely.  
"Get ready to fight!" Sora cried. "Get up Mia! We need you to fight too!"  
Yuna glared at him angrily. "Give her a moment for pity's sake!" Yuna knew what it was like to lose the one you love.  
Mia didn't feel like fighting right now. She just watched as Sora and the others hacked through the swarm of heartless.  
  
Then Mia noticed one heartless that was attacking it's OWN kind. It was also healing Sora and the others. It seemed different from the others. And Mia could sense a sort of gentleness coming from it.  
  
"Riku?" She whispered. It nodded. It's antennas twitched.  
"MIA! Stay away from that heartless! It's dangerous!" Wakka yelled.  
Mia ignored him and knelt in front of it and looked it in the eyes. Suddenly a swarm of heartless came up from behind. Mia hugged the heartless tightly as the creatures swarmed over them.  
  
"MIA!" Rikku screamed. Suddenly there was a flash of light and all the heartless were blown to bits. When the light dimmed down Riku and Mia were standing there hugging.  
"I'm having Daja Vu." Kairi said frowning.  
  
"Riku! You're alive!" Tidus cried.  
  
"Are you guys ok?" Yuna asked.  
  
"That was whack!" Katie cried.  
  
"Why are you hugging?" Sora asked. Rikku smacked him upside the head.  
  
"THEY LIKE EACH OTHER!!!" Rikku shrieked.  
"THEY DO?!" All the boys except Riku cried.  
Yuna, Lulu, Kairi, and Rikku rolled their eyes and sighed. "Boys..."  
  
They stepped outside still talking.  
"So it was Mia's feelings for Riku that restored him?" Lulu asked.  
"That's the way it worked for me and Kairi." Sora said shrugging.  
"I feel really funny." Riku said.  
"Are you ok?" Mia asked.  
"Yeah, I feel great. I feel like I did before I went over to darkness."  
"I wonder what caused that?" Wakka asked frowning.  
"It's simple really, human emotions caused that." A voice sneered.  
  
Everyone spun around. A tall man with silver hair and golden cat-like eyes was hovering above the ground a few feet behind them.  
"ANSEM!" Sora, Riku, and Kairi screamed drawing their weapons.  
"You mean that creep who created artificial heartless and tried to kill you?" Tidus asked.  
"The one and the same." Ansem laughed, "Thank for delivering the leader of the pure-hearts to me Riku."  
"What are you talking about?" Riku snapped stepping in front of Mia.  
"It was so much easier to manipulate you over to darkness after you fell in love with her. You're such an embarrassment to darkness."  
"And proud of it!"  
"Don't let him taunt you Riku, it'll make you blinded in battle."  
Riku turned around. A man wearing a red jacket and black sunglasses was standing there. He held a huge sword in his hand and had a scar across his left eye.  
  
"AURON?!" Tidus cried. "But I thought you were dead! You went to the farplane and everything!"  
Auron ignored him and continued. "You mustn't let him take Mia, it could mean the end of the universe."  
"Stay out of this." Ansem hissed. An orb appeared in his head. "This should be strong enough to kill."  
  
"Mia look out!" Riku yelled. Ansem laughed.  
"Oh she's not the one who should look out! Goodbye Riku!" The orb flew from Ansem's hand straight at Riku. He braced himself.  
  
"RIKU!" Mia screamed. She threw herself in front of Riku. The orb struck her body and electricity crackled through her. She fell to the ground and didn't move.  
"Mia! You monster!" Riku cried kneeling by her lifeless body.  
"I didn't kill her," Ansem said with disappointment in his voice, "She's a pure heart, she was too strong for that blast to mortally wound her. Well, time to get down to business."  
In the blink of an eye Mia was gone from the ground and Ansem was holding her.  
  
"Put her down!" Kairi yelled.  
"Sorry but I can't do this, I need her for the final phase in my plan." With those words he vanished.  
Riku spun around to face Auron. "WHAT'S GOING ON?! WHERE'S HE TAKING MIA?! WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!"  
"My name is Auron, I'm an old friend of Tidus and the others. I'm back from the farplane to help you."  
"How could Ansem still be alive? I opened Kingdom Hearts! The light destroyed him!" Sora cried.  
Auron sighed. "You are powerful Sora, you did save the universe from his threat but Ansem didn't have enough human left in him to die."  
"But what does he need Mia for?" Donald asked.  
"That I'm not entirely sure of."  
"Where's he taken her?" Riku demanded.  
Auron looked at him sternly. "To the End of the World." 


	12. The Love of a Hero

The End of the World was a world where the debris of the worlds taken by the heartless were sent. Heartless loved it there and waited in the shadows to destroy any unwary travelers.  
  
Fortunately Sora and the others were very wary.  
  
They burst into the final room of this bleak world. Ansem was there. Mia lay unconscious on the ground near him.  
  
"Well I didn't expect you to come so soon." He sneered.  
"SHUT UP! NOW GIVE MIA BACK!" Riku yelled.  
"Ha ha! You know I just can't understand you people. Meet a female and you fall in love with her, take her away and you get mad. But Riku, you are too strong to succumb to your emotions like this. I will make you a king of all heartless if you agree to destroy Mia's heart."  
"I would rather die than hurt her or any of my other friends!" Riku yelled.  
"Hmm, what a pity."  
"Before I cut your throat tell me this, why is it that when Mia came it felt like I was back to normal?"  
"Because when you were taken out of Kingdom Hearts you lost a part of your heart inside. You lost an emotion."  
"What emotion was that?  
"Love."  
  
Riku was stunned. So that had been the answer the whole time. Mia had restored his heart to him. That explained why he was now back to normal. Now it was time to get her back. He drew his keyblade.  
  
"Wait Riku." Sora said stepping in front of him.  
"Don't try to stop me Sora!"  
Sora grinned. "Are you kidding? I'm fighting with you."  
"So will the rest of us." Kairi said smiling. "We're all in this together Riku."  
"How touching," Ansem laughed, "Friends again, just in time to be blown to bits by the forces of evil!"  
"Remind me again why I decided to help?" Sora gulped. Kairi elbowed him in the ribs.  
  
At that moment Mia stirred and sat up.  
"Ah so you're awake. Excellent, now we can begin the ceremony." Ansem said yanking her to her feet.  
Suddenly Mia whipped her hand into her pocket and pulled out a pocketknife. She slashed Ansem across the arm.  
"ARGGGGGGGH!!!" He yelled. He struck Mia across the face and began to twist her arm.  
"Leave her alone! I'll kill you!" Riku yelled. Sora and Tidus had to hold him back.  
Mia winced as Ansem twisted her arm. Her knees buckled but he cruelly yanked her upright.  
"You stupid little girl, don't you know I can crush you anytime I want to?"  
Mia swung her foot and kicked him in the shin.  
He hit her again and quit twisting her arm. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a dagger. It had bizarre symbols all over it and a jeweled handle.  
  
"This is the dagger of darkness, all's I need is the leader of the pure-hearts to obtain its awesome power!" Ansem yelled. He held up the dagger. "Oh great powers of darkness! I offer my blood as a sacrifice! Devour it and bestow your awesome powers onto me!"  
He gripped the dagger and dragged it across his wrist. Blood seeped from the cut.  
A swirling cloud of darkness appeared overhead.  
Ansem held up the dagger once again.  
"I also offer you the blood of this pure-heart! Make her fuse with my darkness so that I may become invincible!"  
There was nothing Mia could do to prevent it. Ansem made a cut on her wrist about the same size as his own cut.  
  
The darkness seemed to be stirring. Suddenly it shot down into Ansem's cut and began to enter his body. But his hand still had a death-grip Mia's arm. She screamed and struggled to break free. Once the darkness was finished fusing with Ansem it would come into her and devour her blood.  
"Hang on Mia!" Riku yelled. He broke free from Tidus and Sora and ran towards Mia. He yanked her free from Ansem's grip. The two of them ran from Ansem's side and back with the others.  
"How bad is it?" Yuna asked taking Mia's wrist and looking at the cut.  
"It isn't too bad," Mia said, "Just a little cut."  
"Well, better safe that sorry. CUREGA!" Yuna yelled tapping the cut with her staff.  
The cut instantly closed. There was no mark to show Ansem's work.  
"I'm definitely going to have to remember that one." Mia said smiling.  
"YOU MAY HAVE TAKEN THE PURE-HEART BUT THE POWER SHALL STILL BE MINE!" Ansem roared as the darkness consumed his body.  
There was a rumbling sound. The entire cavern shook. Rocks fell from the ceiling blocking the exit.  
And where Ansem had been there now stood a ferocious-looking monster. It had gigantic bat wings and horrible claws. It had had the same catlike golden eyes. It was completely made of shadow and darkness seemed to radiate from its body.  
  
Mia put her hands over her head and sank to her knees. "No, no, NO!!"  
  
"What's wrong Mia?" Lulu asked kneeling by her.  
"The darkness is...calling me!" She cried.  
Suddenly a dark swirling vortex opened up in the monster's chest. Mia screamed and was sucked into the horrible creature.  
"MIA!" Riku yelled.  
The monster threw back its head and laughed cruelly.  
"NOW DIE, KEYBLADE MASTERS!"  
An enormous ray of energy blasted from Ansem's hands and blew up the wall behind them.  
"He's using Mia's power to increase his own!" Auron yelled, "If we're going to destroy him we'll have to get Mia out of there."  
"I'll go." Riku said without hesitating.  
"Fine, we'll fight on the outside. But remember, once you remove Mia from Ansem's core then he will start to self-destruct and you will only have a few moments to escape."  
"Right." Riku said getting into running position.  
"Go."  
Riku ran forward. His heart was pounding inside his chest. He sprang forward and jumped into the closing vortex in Ansem's chest.  
  
There was darkness as far as the eyes could see. He could hear sounds of fighting outside.   
He heard Katie yell: "TAKE THAT YOU WINGED SPAWN OF SATAN!!!"  
He could see Mia floating far towards the center of the beast. He flew towards her and scooped her up. Her eyes opened and she stared up at him.  
"Riku, where are we?"  
"We're inside Ansem. We've got to get out now!"  
Suddenly there was a roar from outside and the whole place began to collapse.  
Riku and Mia bolted for the vortex but it had sealed up.  
"We're dead meat!" Riku cried.  
"Riku?"  
"Yeah Mia?"  
"Do you remember what I said before? About not being sure of something?"  
"Yes."  
"Well, since we're going to die in a few seconds I guess I can me sure of something."  
"Like what?"  
"Like...I'm sure that I love you."  
Riku stared at her and smiled. "I love you too Mia."  
  
They kissed. Suddenly a bright shield of light formed around them. The monster was being destroyed but they were safe. Mia and Riku didn't notice any of this. They were lost in their own world.  
  
"HEY YOU TWO!" A voice yelled. Mia and Riku were still kissing and hadn't noticed that Ansem was dead.  
  
"Hey!" Wakka yelled. "The inside of the insane dark wizard is NOT a make-out place!"  
Lulu rolled her eyes. "Wakka, they're 16, to them everywhere is a make-out place!"  
Riku and Mia looked over at their friends and quickly stopped kissing and blushed.  
  
"So is Ansem really dead?" Riku asked kicking part of the debris.  
"Yes," Auron said nodding, "There is no trace of him left."  
"Finally, all this horror is over." Sora said smiling, "Well, time to go back to Traverse Town."  
"Can't we wait just a little bit?" Katie gulped.  
"Why would you want to be in this awful place anymore?"  
"I don't, but I'd rather be alive here than dead back in Traverse Town."  
"Huh??"  
"IN CASE YOU FORGOT CAROLYN IS GOING TO KILL ME!"  
"She seemed pretty weak to me. A little too temperamental." Yuna said shrugging.  
Katie stared at her in shock. "ARE YOU CRAZY?! Carolyn is the greatest fighter in the universe! She saves our world on a daily basis!"  
"From who?" Wakka asked.  
"A crazed scientist named Dr. Sloth who's hell-bent on conquering the planet. Although he's pretty stupid and screams like a girl he's still a threat."  
  
"Hey a blitzball!" Katie said pointing at Wakka's weapon.  
"You play?" Wakka asked sounding surprised.  
"Well...I played it once or twice." Katie said.  
"Here show us." Wakka said handing it to her.  
Katie took a deep breath and tossed it into the air. Then she jumped up after it and kicked it with all her might. It shot forward and made a dent in a stone building.  
"Holy shit!" Tidus cried. 


	13. Goodbye?

"KATIE!!!!" A voice shrieked the minute they got off the gummi ship.  
Carolyn, closely followed by Caitlin and Tommy, stormed up to her. Her eyes burned with anger.  
"I'm gonna skip the 'thank goodness you're alright' part of the speech and go right into the 'what the fuck do you think you were doing you little dipshit' part! GEEZ!! I SEND YOU OUT TO GET A CARTON OF MILK AND WHAT HAPPENS?! YOU STEAL MY SWORD AND YOU DISAPPER FOR TWO STINKIN MONTHS!!! I HAD TO DELAY THE MAKING OF MY MOVIE TO LOOK FOR YOU! EVERYONE'S BEEN WORRIED SICK!"  
"Yeah!" Tommy yelled, "I'm saying all that stuff she just said plus some other stuff!"  
"Oh yeah! A portal opening in the middle of the street and swallowing me is totally my fault!" Katie yelled.  
"Yes it is!" Caitlin screamed.  
"Can't you give her a break?" Sora asked stepping forward.  
"NO!" Everyone yelled.  
"Come on guys, just relax." Leon said coming up from behind. "The heartless are gone! We should be celebrating!"  
"Ok fine." Carolyn sighed. "I won't hurt you…much." With that she punched Katie hard across the face. Katie looked dazed.  
"Oh waiter? Check please." Katie mumbled. Then she fell face down onto the pavement.  
"Katie get up!" Carolyn ordered nudging her with her foot.  
"Must…stay…away…from…light."  
"You're lucky Katie, if I had hit you any harder you'd be dead."  
Katie sat up and spotted Leon.  
"You're name is Leon right?" She asked groggily.  
"Yeah."  
"Screw you."  
"WHAT?!"  
"Don't mind her," Carolyn said rolling her eyes, "That's how she says hello."  
  
That night there was a party. Everyone was treated like heroes. (Which they were). Carolyn took her sword back from Mia and was talking to Sora and the others.  
"…So then I get up from the mind-swapping machine and I immediately sense that something is wrong," Carolyn said sipping a can of soda. "I feel my face and look down at my hands and they're green! Dr. Idiot and me switched bodies!"  
"Ouch, that's got to hurt." Rikku said shuddering.  
"Then the worse part is he had to go to school for me! It was hell! I'm so glad that he fixed the mind-swapping machine in time."  
  
Meanwhile Katie and the boys were having a belching contest.  
  
"You just watch Katie, this is boy's stuff." Tidus said.  
"WHAT?!" Katie cried, "No way! I bet you 50 bucks that I can belch louder than you just did!"  
"You might want to take that bet brudda." Wakka said to Tidus. "It's free money."  
"Fine, go ahead." Tidus said trying not to laugh.  
Katie swallowed a mouthful of soda and waited.  
Suddenly she belched so loudly that all the windows on the nearby buildings shattered and the ground rumbled.  
Katie had a superior look on her face. She held out her hand.  
"Pay up." She said smirking.  
"Remind me never to listen to you again." Tidus snapped to Wakka as he handed Katie the money.  
"Does she always act like that?" Yuna asked apparently disgusted.  
"Only on Wednesday." Carolyn said calmly.  
"But it's Saturday."  
"I stand corrected."  
  
Suddenly the gates to the first district swung open. A man with green skin, a long black overcoat, and spiky green things on his head that made him look like a rooster burst in.  
  
"Dr. Sloth!" Carolyn yelled standing up. She squeezed the can of soda in her hand so hard that it exploded.  
"Screw you Sloth." Katie said counting her money.  
"It's nice to see you too Katie." Sloth said fishing into his pocket. He pulled out a gun.  
"FINALLY! MY REVENGE!" He cried pointing the gun.  
"Sloth?" Caitlin said frowning, "That's not Carolyn, that's Wakka."  
"Oh sorry." Sloth said moving it.  
"That's Tidus."  
"Sorry."  
"That's Riku."  
"Sorry again."  
"That's the other Rikku."  
"Sorry."  
"That's Sora."  
"Sorry."  
"That's Yuna."  
"Sorry."  
"That's Tommy."  
"Sorry again."  
"That's your head."  
"Oh yeah! Now I remember!"  
He pointed the gun at Carolyn's head.  
"Don't make me laugh." Carolyn said snatching it from his hand. She looked at it.  
"It's not even loaded!"  
"I know," Sloth said bowing his head, "My mom won't let me use real bullets."  
"You don't live with your mother! You live in a space station!" Tommy laughed.  
"Oh fuck!" Sloth yelled stomping the ground.  
"Boy you were right Katie," Tidus said as his eyes widened, "He really is stupid."  
  
After the party Donald and Goofy showed them to a hidden spot in inter space. It was a swirling vortex floating on a small chunk of land.  
  
Carolyn grabbed Katie by the back of the shirt and pulled her to vortex.  
"Thanks for finding Katie and bringing her back." Carolyn told Sora and the others.  
"No prob. But next time try not to get your heart stolen." Mia said smiling.  
"There won't BE a next time because from now on I'm going to tie Katie to a stake in the yard every weekend." Carolyn grumbled.  
"Good idea!" Tidus said smiling.  
Carolyn, Sloth, and the others all climbed onto the portal and vanished.  
"So they've gone home right?" Sora asked.  
"Right, back to Neopia." Donald said nodding.  
"Good riddance!" Tidus yelled.  
  
"Well we should be returning to Spira." Yuna sighed.  
"Well, ok. We'll miss you guys." Sora said a little sadly.  
"Don't worry about it man." Wakka said smiling. "I know we're all going to see each other again someday."  
"I hope so."  
Tidus and the others stepped onto the vortex. They disappeared just like Katie and her friends.  
  
"Well, now it's time to send Mia back to Infinity Islands." Donald said once they were gone.  
"What?" Riku cried. "You mean I can never see her again?"  
"This isn't fair!" Mia cried.  
"I'm sorry, but this is the way it has to be." Donald sighed.  
  
Mia looked up at Riku. Tears filled her eyes. She hugged him tightly.  
"I love you." She sobbed.  
"I know, I love you too Mia." He said. He leaned over and kissed her forehead.  
  
Mia stepped onto the swirling blue vortex of light. It glowed as her feet touched it. She still hung onto Riku's hand. She began to rise into the air. She held onto his hand as long as she could. But finally it fell away from his grip and she was gone. 


	14. Reunited and Revenge

Disclaimer: A new villian is about to rear his head. A shocking plot twist will occur and Katie and Carolyn join the team. Who is this mysterious boy? Why does he want revenge on Riku? And why is Katie acting like an idiot? Is she even acting?? Things are about to get more intense so keep reading!  
  
2 months later...  
  
Riku sat on the end of the pier of Destiny Islands. The sun was rising off in the distance sending streaks of pale light across the clear water.  
  
Riku's heart ached. It had been aching for the last 2 months.  
  
"That one last kiss...that's all I'll ever have. Why did I let her go?" Riku thought to himself for the hundredth time.  
  
"Are you ok buddy?" A voice from behind asked.  
"No Sora, I'm not." He said icily.  
  
Sora and Kairi had come up behind him. They both sighed. Riku had seemed so depressed for the last 2 months. And whenever they tried to comfort him he lashed out at them.  
  
"You can't blame him." Kairi had said, "He lost the girl he loves and he's trying to decide if he should move on or if he should hold on to her memory."  
"He's acting like she's dead or something!" Sora had yelled.  
"I know."  
  
Sora leaned over and snapped his fingers in front of Riku's face making him jump.  
  
"Quit it." Riku hissed.  
"Riku, knock it off! I know you're upset. I am too! Mia was a friend to Kairi and me. You're not the only one who lost someone Riku!"  
  
Riku felt a pang of guilt. He'd been treating his best friends like shit. But he couldn't let go of Mia. Every time he looked out at the sky he thought about her. Every time he saw the moon reflecting off the water he remembered what she had said to him. About how darkness can corrupt and how light is the only way out.  
  
"I'm sorry guys." He sighed.  
"She wouldn't want you to dwell on her. She'd want you to get on with your life."  
"I can't do that Sora. I loved her as much I hate Ansem!"  
"Try not to think about him, try to focus on a positive thing."  
"Like what?"  
  
Sora opened his mouth to say something but he shut it again. He was staring at the sky. His eyes were wide with shock.  
  
"What is it? What do you see?" Kairi asked.  
"It looks like a meteor!" Sora said pointing at a small object falling towards the water about 100 yards away from the edge of the pier.  
"I wonder what it is?" Kairi wondered out loud.  
  
But Riku already knew.  
  
He sprang off the edge of the pier faster than lightening and began to swim towards the object, which was now floating facedown in the water. He turned the person over.  
  
It was Mia. Her eyes were closed but she was breathing softly.  
Riku didn't say anything. He was too stunned.  
  
He pulled Mia onto the shore. Sora and Kairi ran up to him. Their mouths hung open in shock.  
  
"How could she be here?" Kairi gasped.  
"She's waking up!" Sora cried.  
  
Mia stirred. Her eyes slowly cracked open. She looked up at them.  
  
"Riku?" She whispered.  
Riku smiled and nodded. "Yeah, it's me."  
Mia sat up and rubbed her head. "Where am I?"  
"You're on Destiny Islands, our home." Kairi explained.  
"How'd you get here?" Sora asked.  
  
Mia looked like she was thinking hard.  
"I guess it's because...I believed."  
"What do you mean you believed?" Riku asked.  
"I believed with all my heart that I'd find a way to come here. I hoped I'd make it back to you guys and suddenly I was here."  
  
"What about your home? Infinity Islands?"  
Mia shrugged. "There isn't too much for me there now that Katie's gone. I guess to me home is wherever my friends are. And that's here."  
  
She smiled at Riku. He smiled back. They leaned forward to kiss but then there was a flash of light on the shore nearby. When the light had dimmed they saw Tidus, Wakka, Yuna, Lulu, and Rikku standing there.  
  
"Tidus," Wakka said angrily, "Tell me one thing: WHAT KIND OF MISBEGOTTEN HELL HOLE HAVE YOU GOTTEN US STUCK IN NOW?!"  
"Um...this happens to be our home." Sora said staring at him.  
"Oh! Well it's very nice." Wakka said quickly.  
"All I can remember is thinking about you guys and then WHOOSH!" Tidus said frowning.  
"So believing is the key to traveling to other worlds." Sora said nodding, "All you have to do is believe with all your heart and you'll be here. You don't need a gummi ship."  
"Say, where's Auron?" Riku asked.  
"He went back to the farplanes. He said his time was up." Yuna said shrugging.  
"I know! Let's stay here awhile!" Rikku said smiling. "There's nothing to do in Spira! Besides, I'd like to visit our friends for awhile."  
  
Lulu nodded. "I suppose it would be ok."  
"Who put you in charge?" Tidus asked.  
"Who IS in charge anyway?" Wakka said frowning.  
Silence.  
"Alright we'll stay." Tidus said smiling. "As long as that moron Katie stays far away."  
Wakka laughed. "Dude you're just mad cause she took your money."  
"Shaddup."  
  
The group of friends turned and walked down the beach. But as they walked they were unaware of a pair of eyes watching. These eyes burned with unspeakable hate.  
  
"You'll pay for what you did Riku, you ruined my life so I'll end yours!" The boy muttered under his breath.  
He looked at Mia who was smiling at Riku. They both had a look of love on their faces.  
  
A cruel smile formed on his face. "No, I won't kill him. First I'll destroy the one thing he loves most. I'll make him wish he was dead, then I will grant his wish."  
  
Tears of anger and frustration filled his eyes as he recalled what Riku had done. He gripped his sword by the handle. It seemed to give him a sense of reassurance and power. He wanted to run up and plunge it right into that murderer's chest and watch him die slowly on the sand covered in his own blood.  
  
"I...will...KILL HIM!" He screamed inside his mind. He started out of the shadows but stopped and sank back into them.  
"No. I can't. This must be done so that he suffers horribly, then I will watch him die."  
  
The boy laughed and ducked into a small cave. Several Heartless were there.  
"My loyal servants, my father's wondrous creations, we will soon have everything. All I need to do is destroy the lovely pure-heart Mia and then destroy Riku!"  
  
*Whenever these appear a song is playing*  
  
~My Lullaby~  
  
Boy: *singing* I've been exiled, persecuted  
Left alone with no defense  
When I think of what that brute did  
I get a little tense*  
  
*But I dream a dream so pretty  
that I don't feel so depressed  
'Cause it soothes my inner kitty  
And it helps me get some rest*  
  
*The sound of Riku's dying gasp  
His best friend screaming in my grasp  
His little girlfriend's mournful cry  
That's my lullaby*  
  
*Now the past I've tried forgetting  
And my foes I could forgive  
Trouble is I knows it's petty  
But I hate to let them live*  
  
*So I decided I'd be the one who'd chase Riku up a tree  
  
Oh, the battle may be bloody, but that kind of works for me*  
  
*The melody of angry growls  
A counterpoint of painful howls  
A symphony of death, oh my!  
That's my lullaby*  
  
*The pounding of the drums of war  
The thrill of the Heartless mighty roars*  
  
*The joy of vengeance  
Testify!  
I can hear the cheering  
Cedric! What a guy!*  
  
*Payback time is nearing  
And then our flag will fly  
Against a blood-red sky  
That's my lullaby!*  
  
~Song Ends~  
  
The boy threw his head back and laughed manically. One Heartless looked at another Heartless. Both had a confused look on their faces.  
  
"*COUGH! * WEIRDO! *COUGH! *" The first one coughed.  
  
"Oh blow it out your ass Howard." The boy grumbled.  
  
Meanwhile Outside...  
  
"Did you just hear a badly sung musical?" Tidus asked.  
"Nope." Wakka said shrugging. 


	15. Dark Assassin

Disclaimer: In response to wild armor's question I spend a lot of time thinking thinking up story plots. Where they come from I have no clue. Read on!  
  
One Month Later...  
  
It was around noon. Riku was walking down the beach.   
  
"I never noticed how nice my home is. But now that all of my friends are here it seems like heaven." He thought.  
"Riku!" A voice called.  
Riku smiled. "Complete with angels."  
Mia ran up the beach towards him. A bright smile was on her face. She hugged him. He smiled.  
"You seem perky today." He said laughing.  
"I have a lot to be happy about." Mia said with a mysterious smile.  
"What are you talking about, it's been the same for the last month." Riku said frowning.  
Mia ignored this. "Meet me here by the pier around 3 ok?" With that she walked off.  
  
Suddenly Sora and Tidus came out.  
"So what are you and Mia planning Romeo?" Sora teased.  
"Oh really you think that's funny? Well here's something really embarrassing. You, Kairi, tree house, yesterday, 2 o'clock." Riku laughed.  
  
Needless to say that shut Sora up pretty quick.  
  
"Were you spying on us?!" Sora demanded.  
"No, you two idiots left the window open!"  
Tidus started to scribble something down on a notepad. "Wait a minute what time again?"  
"2 o'clock." Riku said.  
"Ok thanks." Tidus grinned evilly. "Blackmail..."  
  
Later on...  
  
Riku stood on the end of the pier waiting.  
  
Suddenly Sora's head popped up from the end of the pier. "Is she here yet?"  
"Scram Sora!" Riku snapped kicking his face.  
"Aww man," Sora moaned. He looked under the pier where Tidus and Wakka stood with a bag of popcorn. "Come on guys we gotta go. Riku's bein' a poor sport."  
"I said SCRAM!" Riku shouted.  
Tidus, Wakka, and Sora all shot into different directions.  
"Can we pretty please watch from a distance?" Sora pleaded.  
"BEAT IT!"  
  
They all walked away slowly with their heads bowed.  
  
"They are so immature." Yuna said as they walked by.  
"Very immature," Lulu and Rikku said together.   
"Boys...can't live with em' can't live without em'." Kairi sighed.  
  
As the hours longed by and the sun began to set Riku began to worry.  
  
"Have you seen Mia?" He yelled to the girls.  
"No we haven't seen her for hours!" Rikku shouted back.  
"Something is wrong. Something is very wrong." Riku said under his breath.  
  
Everyone began to search the whole island. They checked the tree house. They checked the secret place. And they checked the shore. They kept offering words of comfort to Riku. But as the hours wore on Riku saw the looks on his friend's faces and he could tell that they didn't expect to find her alive.  
  
"Ok." Tidus said making a map in the sand with a stick. "We searched everywhere. We can't find a trace."  
"Are you sure we looked everywhere?" Riku said in a worried tone.  
"We looked everywhere except the top of the island." Lulu said pointing to Tidus's sketch.  
  
With that Riku stood up and ran up the path that led to the top of the island.  
  
"Riku wait!" Sora shouted to Riku.  
Riku ignored him and kept going.  
"Come on guys lets follow him to make sure he doesn't get hurt." Kairi said.  
They followed him up the path. It was starting to rain.  
  
Riku stumbled up the rocky path that led to the peak of the island. It was extremely slippery due to the pouring rain. Something told him that he'd find Mia there but he wasn't sure why. He could see the peak up ahead.  
  
"Come on guys!" Sora called. "We've got to catch up to him!"  
The others stumbled behind him.  
Lulu looked at the sun just as it set below the horizon. "The sun sinks with a red tint. Blood has been spilt this night."  
  
Mud soaked Riku's jeans but he didn't care. All that mattered to him was getting to the top...to Mia.  
His foot hit a pothole and he slipped in the mud. He groaned and looked up. A gasp of horror escaped his lips.  
He could see Mia at the very peak of the mountain. But she wasn't alone. A dark figure was facing her. He had his sword through her stomach.  
Lightening crashed all around illuminating the scene of horror. Mia's face wore a look of shock and pain.  
The figure pulled the sword out of Mia's stomach. She fell down face-first. The figure threw back his head and laughed manically.  
  
"NOOOOOOOO!!!!" Riku screamed in fury. He sprang to his feet and pulled out his keyblade. "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU! YOU BASTARD!" He lunged at him. The boy just smirked and vanished in a puff of smoke.  
Riku dropped his keyblade and knelt by Mia. He cradled her head in his arms. Blood oozed from a wound in her stomach.  
  
"Riku!" A voice called. Sora and the others ran up. They saw Mia and gasped in horror. Yuna began to cry while Tidus comforted her. Wakka's face was white. Even Lulu who hardly showed any emotion had tears streaming down her face.  
  
"Mia!" Kairi cried. "She's going to be ok isn't she?"  
"Yeah! Sh-sh-she's going to be fine, just stay back ok?" Riku choked. He looked at Mia. She was barely alive and struggling to breathe.  
"Oh god." He choked as tears rolled down his face. "Oh my god."  
"Don't cry." She whispered sadly.  
"Hang on Mia. Please..."  
"I love you." She choked as her tears mixed with her blood. Then her eyes rolled back into her head and her body went limp.  
"Mia...no. Come back. Please come back, I love you too." He sobbed. He hugged her lifeless body to his chest and cried.  
  
Author's Comment: How sad... But are things all they appear to be? Don't worry, I've never been know to kill off a character and I don't intend to start with this fic. What happens next is a huge shocker so keep reading. The next plot twist will blow your mind! 


	16. Memories of Mia

The next morning...  
  
"Mia, our friend is dead." Tidus said sadly in front of the small grave.  
It was the next day. They were now holding a small funeral for Mia. They had buried her in a small sandy grave. A small cross was at the head of it.  
"Mia was like a sister to all of us. I know I'll miss her very much." Sora said sadly.  
  
Riku sank to his knees in front of the grave. He clenched a handful of sand tightly in his fist. He couldn't believe it. The love of his life was gone. Stolen from him by some worthless piece of scum.  
  
"Riku..." Sora asked after the funeral. "I know this was hard on you, but did you see the one who did this?"  
"I know that when I catch him he'll be dead five times before he hits the ground." Riku said angrily.  
"I mean what did he look like?"  
Riku sighed. "He had short blue hair. He had golden cat-like eyes and wore dark blue armor with a cape and a Heartless insignia on his chest."  
"Sounds like a real nutcase." Rikku said choking back tears.  
"I KNOW!" Tidus yelled out of the blue. "LETS CHECK TRAVERSE TOWN!!"  
"Why Traverse town?" Sora asked.  
"DUH! WE'RE LOOKING FOR A PSYCHO! WE MET KATIE THERE!!"  
"Do you still have a grudge against her?"  
"I still haven't forgiven her for the belching incident. Plus I still haven't got any money thanks to her..."   
  
Meanwhile in Traverse town...  
  
Leon shuddered. "Evil is coming."  
"What makes you say that?" Yuffie asked.  
Suddenly a flash of lightning boomed and Katie and Carolyn stood at the door.  
"Hello." Katie said waving.  
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!" Everyone screamed.  
"What?" Katie asked.  
"STAY AWAY FROM ME!!" Cloud said making a cross with his fingers.  
"GO BACK TO HELL WHERE YOU CAME FROM!!!" Aerith screamed.  
"Don't worry Carolyn where not talking to you." Yuffie said nodding.  
"SCREW YOU!!" Katie bellowed.  
  
Suddenly Sora, Riku, Kairi, and all the others burst in.  
"HI GUYS!! DIDJA MISS ME?!" Katie said happily.  
"NO!!" Everyone screamed.  
Katie made a rude gesture with her middle finger that made Rikku faint.  
"Where's Mia?" Carolyn asked.  
"Dead..." Riku said sadly.  
"REALLY?!" Katie said happily. "I mean really...?"  
Riku narrowed his eyes and drew his sword.  
"I'm gonna die now aren't I?" Katie whimpered.  
"Yes you are!" Riku snapped.  
"Hold on..." Katie put a blindfold over her eyes. "Ok I'm ready."   
  
Sora put his hand on Riku's arm. "No, no Riku, enough blood has been spilled."  
Riku put his blade back. "Watch your back..." He snapped at Katie.  
"Okay..." She whimpered.  
  
"Did you guys miss ME?" Carolyn asked.  
"YES!" Everyone yelled.  
"It's a gift." She said smiling.  
"Is it true?" Yuffie whispered. "Is Mia really dead?"  
"It's true." Riku said sadly.  
"How?" Aerith whispered.  
"She was murdered." Riku explained. "I was hoping one of you guys could tell me about the guy who I saw do it."  
Riku described the unknown killer to them. When he was finished Cloud's eyes widened.  
"I KNOW HIM!" He cried. "I fought him in the coliseum!"  
  
Riku grabbed Cloud by the front of the shirt and glared at him.  
"Listen Cloud, that scum robbed me of the girl I loved. Now tell me everything you know about him!"  
"They called him Cedric. This guy was tough! I couldn't lay a finger on him! He was almost invincible!"  
"Thanks." Riku said releasing him.  
"Well we know his name and what he looks like but we still need to figure out where he lives." Sora said frowning.  
"He looked like he was my age." Riku said thinking hard. "Maybe he lives at home with his parents."  
"I doubt a PRINCE would live that way." Cloud said rolling his eyes.  
"PRINCE??"  
"They didn't call him 'Prince Cedric' for their health now did they?"  
"What was he prince of?" Wakka grumbled. "The group of rotten murderers?!"  
"No, he was prince of Hollow Bastion!" Cloud yelled.  
"HOLY SHIT!" Katie shrieked.  
"Quit swearing!" Carolyn yelled smacking her. She turned to face Sora and the others.  
"Listen, we're bored out of our minds. Plus that Mia kid was really nice. We'll go along with you and offer our services anyway we can."  
"Thanks." Riku said smiling.  
"You sure you guys can handle it?" Wakka asked.  
"CAN WE HANDLE IT?!" Katie cried. "Buddy, I'm a full-time idiot, part-time guardian!"  
"MY guardian to be exact." Caroyn said nodding.  
"I pity you." Tidus sighed.  
Carolyn smiled and got into her famous victory pose where she put one hand on her hip and gave a salute.  
"No worries! Just leave it to us professionals! We beat up dozens of monsters daily!"  
"Alright then," Riku said stepping outside. "I swear upon my life that I will track down Mia's killer and avenge her death!"  
"Good luck you guys." Aerith said. "And Riku? I'm sorry about Mia. It was obvious that she really loved you."  
"Thanks Aerith." Riku said sadly.  
  
That night on the gummi ship Riku couldn't sleep. Whenever he closed his eyes he could see Mia getting stabbed by Cedric. He opened his eyes. He could hear people talking upstairs. He walked up the metal steps and listen outside the door.  
  
"I feel so bad for Riku." He heard Kairi's voice say. "It wasn't fair."  
"Life's not fair, that's just the way it is." Lulu sighed.  
"Why did this have to happen?" Rikku said sadly, "What good does hurting people do? It just causes more pain! It doesn't change anything!"  
"All I know is," Wakka said angrily, "When we catch up to that Cedric punk I'm gonna wring his puny little neck!"  
"Count me in!" Tidus said raising his hand.  
"Me too!" Katie added.  
"NO!"  
"I doubt they'll be any of him left to wring when Riku is finished with him." Carolyn sighed.  
"Shh!" Yuna whispered. "You'll wake him up!"  
  
Riku walked back down the metal stairs and plopped back down in his chair. He gazed out the large cockpit window.  
"This place brings back memories..." He thought gazing out the window at inner space.  
  
*Flashback*  
  
*"I for one am excited!" Mia said eagerly gazing out the window, "I've always wanted to travel to other worlds!"  
Riku's eyes widened. "You have?"  
"Oh yes! Ever since I was very young I've wanted to go exploring on an adventure like this! Now I'm living my dream!"  
Riku smiled. She wanted to see other worlds too. That was just like him.*  
  
Tears filled Riku's eyes.  
"Mia, why did you have to die?" He thought to himself. "Why did Cedric take you away from me? It doesn't make any sense. I never did anything to him! Does he just like to kill?!"  
Riku stood up and clenched his fist. Tears of anger and grief streaked his face.  
"Well he picked the wrong girl to murder! He'll die in my hand!"  
  
"This is playing out even better than I imagined." Cedric sneered.  
He was in his throne room watching Riku's scene of grief in a hologram.  
"Play back the part when he saw her die! That's my favorite part!" He ordered one of the Heartless.  
  
After he watched the scene again he got up from his throne. A young girl lay unconscious on the floor in the center of the room. She had long orange-red hair tied back in a braid with white ribbons. She wore a yellow shirt, a necklace with a pink heart-shaped pendant, blue jeans, and white sneakers.  
  
He smiled and touched her cheek.  
"So beautiful. Riku never deserved her. A traitor to darkness could never be worth anything."  
  
He looked at the hologram. "Well it appears that those fools have already reached Deep Jungle. They'll reach here by tomorrow. I must prepare for them."  
He turned and started out of the room.  
"Lock her in the back room!" He yelled to the Heartless. "If that boy shows up then keep him away from her!"  
  
They landed in Deep Jungle near the tree house. An army of heartless immediately confronted them.  
  
"This may take awhile." Tidus moaned.  
"Says you!" Carolyn laughed. She waved her hand. Half the heartless flew into the air and slammed into trees and fell to the ground dead.  
"This may sting a little." She said with a huge smile. A huge ray of light flew from her right hand and wiped out the last of the heartless.  
"What the hell was that?" Wakka cried.  
"Oh nothing really, just the power of light and justice flying from my hands and blowing them to bits." Carolyn said grinning.  
"You ARE good at fighting!" Rikku said stunned.  
"Obviously. She's famous in our world!" Katie said beaming.  
  
They reached the tree house. Riku slept outside while the other stayed inside. He lay in the boat elevator that hung to the left of the tree house. It swung back and forth in the wind.  
He remembered this place all right. He looked down into the jungle at the lagoon. It was in that lagoon where he and Mia had shared their first kiss. It seemed like yesterday.  
  
*Flashback*  
  
* Mia looked up at Riku and smiled. Happiness reflected off her face. She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. He couldn't help blushing. He looked back at her and smiled.  
Both of them leaned towards each other and kissed on the lips*  
  
That memory made him even angrier with Cedric. He wanted to cut that murderer's throat. He wanted to torture him with a slow agonizing death like Cedric had done to Mia.  
Riku shook his head. He couldn't keep thinking like that. He didn't want to sink to Cedric's level. But he couldn't help seeing Mia lying there on the ground covered in her own blood as she whispered her final words.  
  
The next day back on the gummi ship Carolyn was telling them about their world.  
  
"It has a city in the clouds called Faerieland. Every Friday there's a tournament that I compete in on my own. It's kind of annoying being a celebrity."  
"Let's not hear any sob stories about how you're so upset about being famous! Meanwhile I'm the one on the sidelines waving pom-poms!" Katie snapped.  
"You want a piece of me?!" Carolyn yelled.  
They dove at each other punching and kicking. Tidus and Wakka had to pull them apart.  
"Save it for Cedric." Sora said calmly.  
"Speak of the devil." Lulu said pointing out the cockpit window.  
  
The ominous shadowy figure of Hollow Bastion loomed in the distance.  
  
"That scum is hiding in there somewhere." Riku muttered. "And I'm gonna find him!" 


	17. The Accursed Youth

The ship landed in front of the castle.  
  
Carolyn frowned and sniffed the air. "Hmm. No Heartless in this area."  
"Oh quit acting like you know everything Carolyn!" Katie grumbled.  
"Well that can only mean one thing." Riku said frowning. "We're expected."  
Riku burst into the throne room followed closely by his friends. A boy with short blue hair with dark armor sat on the throne. Riku recognized those cold, piercing, golden, eyes looking down at him with a look of triumph.  
  
"So you came," He sneered. "I've been waiting for you."  
Suddenly Katie ran up and shook his hand. "HI! How ya doin'? My name's Katie. What's yours?"  
He stared at her funny. "Cedric."  
"Good to meet you Cedri-" Katie stopped suddenly at the mention of his name. Her eyes widened in fear. She ripped her hands free from his and bolted away screaming: "I SHOOK A BLOODSTAINED HAND I SHOOK A BLOODSTAINED HAND!!!"  
She ducked behind Carolyn wringing her hands. Rikku handed her a bar of soap.  
"Thanks." She grumbled scrubbing frantically.  
Riku stepped forward. "CEDRIC! LET'S SETTLE THIS!"  
"The time has finally come!" Sora yelled, "You will pay for your deeds with your life!"  
Cedric stood up and drew his sword.   
"I'll escort you to your funeral. Let me give you a taste of my incredible power! This sword contains the ultimate power that you idiots believe in! The power of justice!"  
Riku shook his fist. "WHAT JUSTICE?! TRUE JUSTICE, TRUE POWER IS IN THE HEART! NOT IN SOMETHING VILE LIKE YOU!"  
"You should talk Riku." Cedric grumbled. "I will never forgive you for what you did to me."  
"What did I do?!" Riku screamed.  
"You killed my father."  
"You-your father? But then that means..."  
"Yes." Cedric said spinning dramatically causing his cape to billow out around him. "I am prince Cedric, ruler of Hollow Bastion, and SON OF KING ANSEM!!!"  
"You're Ansem's son?" Riku said in shock.  
"What did you expect?" Cedric laughed. "Before I kill you allow me to tell you my story…"  
  
"It began ten years ago when I was only six. It was back when my father Ansem ruled this land without the power of darkness. I grew up naively thinking that everything in life was fair and good. All that changed when my father discovered The Heartless, he was fascinated with it. He decided to try to create an artificial Heartless. But in order to do that he needed a human subject to test on. All of his servants refused until my mother Queen Jenna volunteered. At first he refused but then he realized he had no choice."  
  
Cedric sighed and continued sadly.   
  
"My mother didn't survive the experiment. Afterwards my father and me began to study the dark arts. Then we realized that darkness was the heart's true essence and that this power could be used to dominate mankind. He gathered an army of heartless and began to destroy worlds. The keyblade master thwarted him. After that I began to train in the art of sword fighting and black magic while my father studied ancient legends.   
He found one about the pure-hearts. He knew he could revive Maleficent and have her get the leader of the pure-hearts for him. Unfortunately the plan fell apart when Riku and Mia fell in love.   
He took her powers from my father causing his destruction! I plotted for months to get revenge so finally I did it. I created a heartless clone of Mia to tell Riku to wait by the beach. Then I made one of Riku and told Mia to wait for him on top of the island. Then I came up and slaughtered her!"  
  
He pointed his sword at Riku. "And now I'm going to finish the job and get revenge! Revenge for my last family member!"  
"Well I'm getting revenge for Mia!" Riku yelled. He pulled out his keyblade. "Sora, guys! You stay out of this! This is my fight!"   
"He is SUCH a show-off!" Carolyn shouted angrily.  
The two foes leapt at each other.  
  
Their swords clashed. Both boys wore a look of unspeakable hate. Riku swung the keyblade and knocked Cedric back. Cedric rose into the air.  
"Meteors of Heaven! UNLEASH THY FURY!" Cedric bellowed. A gigantic meteor flew out of nowhere straight at Riku. He dove to the side just as it slammed into the ground where he had been.  
  
As the fight wore on Riku began to realize how strong Cedric really was. For every wound Riku inflicted Cedric gave two in return.  
Finally Riku slumped over exhausted and wounded badly. He fell to down on his hands and knees. He tried to get up but Cedric placed his foot on his back and pushed him back down.  
  
"I could kill you now. I could twist my sword into your back and end it now. But that would be immoral."  
"Moral?!" Carolyn yelled. She started towards him in fury. Sora and Kairi grabbed her and held her back. "MORAL?!" She screamed again, "YOU DON'T KNOW THE MEANING OF THAT WORD!!!!"  
Cedric turned and sneered at her. "You're the Chosen One right?"  
Carolyn gawked at him. "How did you know...?"  
"Your powers are legend, just like the Faerie who gave them to you."  
"DO YOU WANNA SEE LEGEND BECOME REALITY?!" She yelled trying to break free from her friends grasp.  
"You talk big. But can you do anything else except talk?" He turned his attention back to Riku. "Get up and face me like a man."  
Riku started to get up but it hurt so bad he could hardly breathe.  
"GET UP OR I WILL MAKE YOU GET UP!" Cedric roared.  
Riku stood up shakily and gripped his sword. He was covered in blood and bruises. He knew he didn't have a chance to win. Cedric was going to kill him no matter what.  
"Mia, I'm sorry. I failed to get revenge for you." Riku whispered.  
"NOW DIE! RIKU THE KEYBLADE MASTER!" Cedric yelled jumping back. He raised his hand above his head. A gigantic black orb began to grow in his hands.  
"This is it, I'm gonna die." Riku thought shutting his eyes.  
  
"RIKU!!!" A familiar voice screamed.  
Riku looked up and almost fainted.  
  
There was a marble staircase behind Cedric that led up into a back room that was used for storage. Standing at the top of the staircase was someone Riku would know anywhere.  
  
Because the person standing there was the one he was thinking about more than anyone else right now.  
  
"MIA?!" Riku gasped in shock.  
In an instant Mia was rocketing down the stairs, past Cedric, and straight into Riku's outstretched arms.  
Riku was dazed. Questions were flying into his head so fast it was impossible to comprehend it all at once.   
Is it really her?  
What is she doing here?  
Isn't she dead?  
Am I seeing things?  
"Mia is that really you?" Riku asked still shocked.  
She nodded. She was shaking. "Thank god! Riku I thought I'd never see you again I'm so glad you made it!"  
"But how?" He whispered.  
"NOOOOOO!" Cedric yelled. He stormed up to them and knocked Mia to the floor.  
"You stupid little girl! You weren't supposed break out of your chains!"  
"Never underestimate the power of a girl with a hairpin!" Mia said smiling as she held up a small black hairpin.  
In his anger Cedric raised his hand to strike her again but Riku grabbed his wrist and stopped him.  
"If you hit Mia again then I'll rip your throat out and kick it around on the ground." He hissed.  
Cedric laughed coldly and yanked his hand free. "Don't threaten me you bleeding cripple!"  
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A CRIPPLE YOU ASSHOLE?!" Riku yelled. "HOW IS MIA ALIVE ANYWAY?! I SAW YOU STAB HER WITH YOUR FRICKIN SWORD!"  
Cedric sighed. "Well, there's no point in hiding the truth from you any longer. …I didn't really kill Mia."  
"Why?" Riku asked suspiciously, "Didn't you want revenge? I thought you wanted to make me suffer."  
"I do." Cedric said clenching his fist, "My original plan was to kill her. I heard about her from your friend Cloud in the coliseum. I had to snap his arm but it was worth it. Didn't you notice that his arm was in a sling the last time you saw him?"  
Riku vaguely remembered. He was too full of grief to have noticed.  
  
"When the time came for me to kill her I followed her up the mountain and waited in the shadows. When it started to rain I could see you starting up the mountain and I knew I had to act fast. I emerged and lifted my sword to kill her. She turned around in terror and I saw her face. And I saw the same thing you saw and I just couldn't kill her. I knocked her out with the flat end of my sword and teleported her to this castle quickly. Then I came back and placed her heartless clone in her place. Then just as you reached the top I slaughtered the clone and ordered it to say those touching last words."  
  
Riku's stomach twisted with anger. This scum...he had kidnapped Mia, put her through hell, and made the lives of the people who cared about her turn upside-down. But she was alive and safe and that was all that mattered.  
"So you fell in love with her too." He hissed.  
"That's right," Cedric grumbled, "But it appears she's still in love with you. So it looks like I'm going to have to kill you in order to win her affection."  
"HIGHLY UNLIKELY!" Mia yelled.  
"Be quiet!" Cedric snapped.  
"If you hurt Riku I'll never forgive you!" She screamed.  
"Then let me say 'I am sorry' ahead of time!" Cedric laughed.  
Riku smiled at Mia. "Don't worry. I can handle him."  
She smiled back. "I know you can."  
"Puh! You're pathetic!" Cedric said raising his sword. But Riku was quicker. With Mia there he felt no more grief weighing on his heart. His strength was renewed. He swung his keyblade and knocked Cedric back into the wall. Cedric staggered to his feet. Blood oozed from a cut in the corner of his mouth.  
"Um...dude?" Katie said pointing, "You got some blood on your face."  
"Oh no I don't." Cedric said shaking his head, "Sometimes when I fight my opponent's blood gets on me and…" He frowned and wiped the blood from his face and looked at it. "Wait a minute! This IS my blood!" He pointed at Riku, "YOU! YOU MADE ME BLEED MY OWN BLOOD! You're the first person to do that!"  
"I'm so honored." Riku laughed.  
"That's it!" Cedric yelled. He raised his sword. It began to glow with a brilliant red light. "This is my ultimate attack! The blood sword!" He leapt towards Riku and swung it at his throat. "NOW! IT IS TIME TO OFFER ME YOUR NECK!"  
Riku flew back when the sword made contact with his throat.  
"RIKU!!!!" Mia screamed. She ran to his side. There was only a small cut on Riku's throat.  
"I looked death in the eye for a moment there." Riku gasped as he clutched his throat.  
"What?" Cedric said frowning. "The flesh has NOT been severed?"  
"An ordinary human would be headless right now." Lulu said smiling, "But luckily Riku is a keyblade master."  
"Daaaaang." Katie said in shock.  
"Hmm. A minor inconvenience. I will just have to-" Suddenly Riku punched him across the face and knocked him to the floor. Riku grabbed him by the front of the shirt and lifted him off the floor.  
"And this is for tying up my girlfriend!" Riku yelled. He grabbed Cedric and rammed his head into a pillar. Cedric looked dazed for a moment. (Kind of like how Katie always looks). But he shook his head and returned to normal.  
"That's it! I'll see to it that you pay for this insult! YOU'LL PAY!" He pointed at the others. "YOU'LL ALL PAY!" He ran from the room in anger.  
  
"Why me?!" Katie sobbed, "I didn't do anything! I was just sitting here!"  
"Oh cram it!" Tidus snapped, "We've got too find a way out of here before Cedric comes back for an encore performance!"  
"He's right!" Carolyn said clenching her fist and smiling, "As much as I'd like to dash out his brains I'm not sticking around and testing my throat against that 'Blood Sword' thing!" 


	18. A Boy Named Cedric

Author's Comments: This is your author Carolyn! My friend Katie told me to ask you if she has any fans. She'd like to know if her goofy antics have earned her any respect. (Yes me and Katie are real people). Please tell her in a review and keep the reviews coming!  
  
They burst out of the throne room and hurried down the hall. The hall was outdoors and had a long opening along the side. About one floor up there was another hall on the opposite side of the pit separating the two halves of the castle. It also had an opening looking down at the hall below.  
"MOVE IT KATIE!" Carolyn yelled at her friend who had fallen behind.  
"I'm going as fast as I can!" She screamed back.  
"That's not fast enough little girl!" A voice yelled.  
"Quit mocking me Carolyn!"  
"I didn't say anything!" Carolyn shouted back.  
"I said that you nimrods!" A voice called. Sora looked back. About 5 feet behind Katie he could see Cedric. He was flying just above the ground holding his sword.  
"EEEEEK!!!" Katie screamed as Cedric's sword just barely missed slicing her ear off.  
"COME MY ZOMBIE HEARTLESS!" Cedric yelled stopping suddenly and raising his hand. The ground burst open and a group of hideous looking Heartless that Sora had never seen before crawled out moaning: "Brains..."  
Katie stopped and turned to face them. "WAIT! Take me instead! Just leave my friends alone!"  
The creatures grabbed her and for a moment they looked like they were going to rip her head open. But then they stopped and looked into her ear. One of them tapped her head with their knuckles. A hollow echoing sound emitted from it.  
The zombies shoved her to the side and continued chasing Sora and the others yelling: "BRAINS! WE NEED SOMEONE WITH BRAINS!"  
"How rude." Katie sniffed angrily, "DARK WAVE!!!" She waved her hand. A swarm of shadow emitted from her hands and wiped out the zombies.  
"YOU LITTLE BRAT!!!" Cedric yelled. He rose into the air and shot after her. A high-pitched scream escaped her lips and she bolted covering her neck. Cedric swiped at her severing several strands of her reddish-brown hair.  
"HEY! LEAVE THE 'DO OUT OF THIS!" Katie screamed. Cedric was only a few inches behind her. She could actually feel his breath on the back of her neck.  
  
"Wow, look at her go." Tidus said without any emotion. He and the others had already reached the upper hallway and were watching her being chased by Cedric.  
"Yeah, it's kinda sad actually," Carolyn sighed, "Even Cedric's getting bored."  
It was true. Cedric had slowed down and had one eyebrow raised as he watched Katie run.  
"That's it!" He yelled, "This is an insult!" He threw his sword like a spear into the ground just in front of Katie. The ground exploded and she went tumbling into the abyss below screaming.  
Suddenly Carolyn hopped off the rail on the edge of the walkway.  
"SHE'S SUICIDAL!" Wakka yelled as she fell after Katie.  
Suddenly Carolyn swooped down and grabbed Katie by the arm and shot into the air. Both of them landed safely on the walkway with Sora and the others.  
"Yo-you can fly?" Sora gasped. Carolyn smiled and nodded.  
"Yeah! Didn't I tell you?" She said brushing dust off her jeans. She turned to Katie angrily. "Why do I always have to save your sorry ass?"  
"I don't know." Katie said shrugging stupidly. Carolyn began slapping her face repeatedly.  
"Stop!" Tidus yelled grabbing her arm and stopping her.  
"Thank you!" Katie gasped.  
"Save some for me!" Tidus added. He grabbed Katie by the front of the shirt and started slapping her.  
"Hey don't hog the slaps!" Riku yelled. He nudged Tidus to the side and started slapping her. Soon everyone had slapped her at least once.  
"Um...shouldn't all of you be running from me?" A cold voice asked. Riku looked up he saw Cedric standing there looking puzzled.  
"How ya doing ass-wipe?" Katie asked,  
"Be quiet!" Cedric yelled. "You cannot defeat me! I am the son of Ansem! I am crown prince of Hallow Bastion! I will not allow Mia to leave this castle!"  
"If she wants to leave there's nothing you can do to stop her!" Riku yelled drawing his keyblade.  
"Oh yes there is!" Cedric sneered. He teleported suddenly and struck Carolyn across the head and slung her over his shoulder.  
"Put her down!" Katie screamed. She drew her own sword. It had a purple blade and a red handle. In the center of the handle there was a skull symbol and hanging off the end was a chain with a skull charm hanging off the end.  
"Go ahead and hit me!" Cedric laughed, "I cannot be defeated by a mortal weapon!"  
"How about an IMMORTAL one?!" Katie yelled. She slashed him across the arm.  
"For an idiot you have great strength." Cedric sneered. The wound on his arm closed instantly.  
"Now let's get down to business." Cedric said smiling evilly, "If you ever want to see your friend alive again then have Riku meet me in the highest tower. There we will have the final duel over who wins Mia's heart."  
With that he vanished.  
"Bastard!" Riku yelled slamming his fist against the wall.  
Katie said nothing. She started up the stairs with her sword in hand.  
"What are you doing you idiot?" Wakka asked.  
"I'm fulfilling my role as her leading guardian. It's a prophecy that her and me other guardians will make sure she doesn't fall into the wrong hands. I may be an idiot but I'm a capable fighter." She looked at her sword. "I bought this sword from a shop that deals in the dark arts...blew up right after I walked out the door. I once went over to the dark side because I was jealous of her power. I almost killed her. I swore I'd never let that happen again!"  
"Wow that was some speech." Yuna said sounding impressed.  
"Thanks. I normally have a short attention span...WOW! LOOK AT THAT SQUIRREL!"  
"Katie?" Rikku said frowning, "There IS no squirrel."  
"Oh." 


	19. Carolyn's Arrow

Disclaimer: Whew! Sorry about the long wait! I've been suffering from serious writers block. But I'm over it (for this story anyway) and the fic will continue! Enjoy!  
  
Riku burst into the highest tower of Hollow Bastion followed by his friends. Cedric was standing there. Carolyn lay in an unconscious heap on the ground near him.  
"Geez now I've got to save HER sorry ass." Katie moaned rolling her eyes.  
"I heard that ya know." Carolyn mumbled.  
"Then why didn't you fight back when Cedric kidnapped you?!" Katie yelled.  
Carolyn sat up and smiled. "Well I could have beaten the crap out of him, but I wanted it to be more dramatic."  
"Ya stupid drama queen." Katie moaned  
"Well it wasn't right for my...um...what's that word to describe how you do things?"  
"Your idiom?"  
"That's it."  
"CAN WE PLEASE GET BACK TO THE FIGHT?!" Cedric yelled. He pointed at Carolyn. "YOU! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE UNCONSCIOUS!"  
"Sorry." She said laying back down.  
Riku and Cedric leapt at each other (once again) and drew their swords.  
"Quit kidnapping people!" Riku yelled.  
"Never!" Cedric yelled back. He struck Riku so hard that he crashed through a stain-glass window.  
"RIKU!" Mia screamed.  
  
Riku lay on the roof of the castle. Blood oozed from a cut on his shoulder. Rain splattered on the roof soaking him to the bone. He could hear more glass breaking and saw Cedric leap out of the window. Riku stood up. He slipped on the water on the roof and tumbled over the edge. His fingers grasped the edge of the roof. He looked down and gasped.  
Countless icy cliffs surrounded the castle. An eerie mist covered the tops. He couldn't even see the bottom. One slip could mean certain death.  
"Now is your time to die Riku." Cedric sneered stepping towards the spot that Riku was holding onto. "But don't worry, you'll be leaving Mia in good hands. And while you die a slow painful death I'll make sure that your friends deaths are quick and painless."  
"Who said anything about dying?!" Riku yelled. Summoning all his strength he sprang off the edge and onto the roof of the tower. While he was in midair he quickly summoned his keyblade into his hand and spun around and swung it at Cedric. Cedric raised his own sword and blocked it.  
"BLOOD SWORD!" Cedric yelled raising his sword. Once again it glowed with a brilliant red light. He swung it at Riku who just scarcely managed to avoid it.  
  
Meanwhile inside the tower the blast from the blood sword had blown everyone into the wall.  
"We've got to do something to help him!" Kairi cried.  
"But what?" Sora yelled, "There's not much we can do!"  
"I've got an idea!" Carolyn yelled. She raised her hand and a golden bow and arrow appeared in her hand.  
"Carolyn no!" Katie cried, "You can't use the Omega Arrow! Last time you used it, it almost killed you! And that was when you were at FULL health! Imagine what it'll do with all your wounds!"  
"I'm not going to use it!" Carolyn shouted, "I'm just going to use a regular enchanted arrow!"  
"What the hell is the Omega Arrow?" Wakka asked.  
"It's Carolyn's ultimate attack." Katie explained as Carolyn placed the arrow on the bow, "It's the enchanted arrow of justice. Last time Carolyn used it, it almost killed her because it took so much of her energy."  
"HEY CEDRIC!" Carolyn yelled. Cedric, who had been trying to strangle Riku, stopped and looked up at her.  
"CATCH THIS!" She screamed. She drew back on the bow and released the arrow.  
The arrow struck Cedric in the arm pinning him to a statue on the roof. Sparks of electricity emitted from the arrow and Cedric howled with pain.  
"YOU LITTLE BITCH!" He roared as light tore through his body.  
"Way to go!" Katie said giving her a high-five, "You totally nailed that sucker!"  
Cedric reached up and pulled the arrow out of his arm. He looked at it. He seemed dazed with horror.  
"You mean to tell me..." He whispered icily, "That this girl actually has the power to shoot the arrows of light?"  
He glared at Carolyn. His eyes burned with unspeakable hate. He threw the arrow on the ground and spat on it.  
"I see...I have no chance of winning so long as that girl is here." He glanced at the edge of the tower and took a step backwards towards it. He glared fiercely at Riku.  
"Don't think you've won yet! I will return and deal with you later." He turned to the broken stain-glass window and watched as Mia climbed out the window and threw her arms around Riku.  
"Mia my love," Cedric said smiling coldly, "I'll be seeing you again soon. I promise."  
He stepped back off the edge and plunged down towards the cliffs.  
"He's crazy." Riku murmured as he watched him fall. Suddenly a loud screech filled the air. A large bat-like creature swooped down under Cedric and caught him on it's back. It flew off and vanished.  
"Ok he totally stole that from 'Lord of the Rings'!" Katie yelled.  
"What's 'Lord of the Rings'?" Tidus asked puzzled.  
Katie opened her mouth to explain what it was but just then Carolyn gasped and sank to her knees.  
"What's wrong?" Rikku asked kneeling by her.  
"Too...much...energy." Carolyn choked. "Must...be...too...strong." she gave a shuddering gasp and fell down face forward.  
"I knew that it was too much for her." Katie sighed.  
"You mean she's...dead?" Yuna asked nervously.  
"OH NO!" Sora cried, "They'll think we killed her! From now on my name is Hector Zeroni, master blacksmith!"  
"Sora?" Katie said frowning, "You need help. Besides she's not dead. She's just stunned."  
"That's good." Lulu said nodding, "I don't think we need a dead body on our hands."  
"Get up butthead." Katie said kicking Carolyn in the ribs. Carolyn moaned and sat up.  
"Owies!" She cried rubbing her sore ribcage.  
"Come on guys." Riku said as he and Mia climbed back in the tower. "Let's leave this terrible place and never come back."  
There was a small staircase that led down to the door out of the tower. Everyone else walked down the stairs except for Carolyn who stood at the top rummaging through her backpack.  
"Come on Carolyn!" Katie called motioning for her to follow her. "This way!"  
"No it's not right for my idiom." Carolyn said pulling out a rope and tying it to a wooden beam on the ceiling. "I must escape more..." She sighed as she struggled to find the right word.  
"Dramatically?" Katie asked.  
"Yes that's it!" Carolyn said smiling, "Dramatically! Tallyho!" She yelled as she swung down on the rope. But unfortunately Carolyn didn't have enough momentum so she just hung there feeling really stupid.  
"Um...could someone give me a push?" 


	20. Here We Go Again!

Disclaimer: I'm SO sorry about the long wait. Here are the reasons I havn't updated any of my fics in awhile:  
  
Computer Problems  
  
Writers Block  
  
And School Work  
  
As for readers of my other fics PLEASE bear with me. I've had a mean case of writers block.  
  
Everyone returned to Traverse Town to celebrate. (Again). Katie was playing poker with the boys and was beating the crap out of them. All their money and weapons lay in a heap in front of her.  
"Man how come you keep beating us?" Sora moaned as Katie took his keyblade.  
"Well don't you guys know?" Carolyn shouted to them.  
"SHUT UP!" Katie shouted.  
"Know what?" Riku asked.  
"Katie has some powers of her own! She can see through things!"  
"WHAT?!"  
They picked up their swords. Katie quickly grabbed her winnings.  
"Got to go, BYE!"  
Katie took off with everyone close behind her waving their swords. They ran back and forth for about five minutes till Carolyn got bored and tripped Katie. Riku pointed his sword at her throat.  
"RIKU STOP!" Carolyn shouted.  
"Why should I??"  
"You can call her names, you can drive her insane, you can march her off a cliff, you can push her over to the dark side, you can abuse her as a sidekick, you can leave her to die on some god-forsaken rock, but for some reason you just can't kill her!"  
"WATCH ME!"  
Suddenly Riku slammed into the ground. Carolyn had used her physic powers to throw him into the ground.  
"What the hell was that for?!"  
"For trying to kill my best buddy."  
"I'd do it again."  
Suddenly he slammed into the ground again. This time with such a force that there was only the shape of a human being going 5 feet down into the cobblestone street.  
"That was bloody brilliant." Sora said smiling, "Do it again!"  
Katie was busy counting her winnings.  
"You do realize that money's worthless in our world." Carolyn sighed.  
"I know, but it gives me a feeling of power having won it."  
"You could at least give them their weapons back."  
"I'll lend them to them." She said causally.  
"Greedy aren't we? So what are you going to do with that money if you can't use it?"  
Katie shrugged. "Well for now I'm going to do what anyone else would do. Run my fingers through it laughing manically!"  
With that she began to run her fingers through the pile of money laughing a squeaky laugh.  
"Memo to me:" Carolyn murmured, "Watch out for Katie."  
"She's completely crazy." Tidus sighed.  
"Just don't say her hair looks fake." Carolyn warned.  
"Why not?"  
Carolyn gulped nervously. "Well I can't really tell you, I have to show you. Here take this." She handed him a helmet.  
"Oh god." He moaned.  
"HEY KATIE!" Carolyn shouted, "DID I EVER TELL YOU THAT YOUR HAIR LOOKS REALLY FAKE?!"  
Katie's eyes widened. She turned to Carolyn and began snarling. She foamed at the mouth. She transformed into a huge wolf creature covered in reddish-brown fur. Everyone screamed except Carolyn. Carolyn just picked up a rock and chucked it at her head. It bounced off, Katie roared and fell to the ground unconscious. She changed back to her normal psycho self.  
"Well, that sure made us look bad." Sora gulped.  
"Just slink away everyone, just slink away." Wakka said waving his arms.  
Mia had her head bowed and looked very depressed.  
"What's wrong Mia?" Yuna asked.  
"It's chilling to think that Cedric is still alive out there plotting his revenge on us." Mia sighed.  
"Oh come on!" Katie cried sitting up, "You've got two boys, both are extremely cute, who are absolutely nuts about you! You should consider yourself lucky! Ok so one of them is slightly homicidal and is willing to kill the boy you truly love to get what he wants, but who cares?!"  
"But I only love Riku!" Mia cried.  
"Then if you don't want him could I have Cedric?" Katie asked hopefully.  
Carolyn took Katie aside. "Katie, there are three times in a person's life. There's a time to talk, there's a time to be silent, and there's a time to shut your mouth. NOW WOULD BE A TIME TO SHUT YOUR MOUTH!"  
"Well, time to get back to Destiny Islands." Sora said standing up.  
"Can we come?" Katie asked hopefully.  
"Sure!"  
Tidus sank to his knees. "NOOOOOOOOOO!"  
"Tidus?" Wakka asked, "Shut up!"  
  
Everyone was back on Destiny Island about a month later.  
"Well it seems like Carolyn is fitting in here well." Kairi remarked, "But I can't say the same about Katie..."  
As she spoke Katie was following Carolyn down the beach poking her and laughing. Carolyn looked like she was about to snap but she didn't say anything, she just kept walking.  
"Anyone who can put up with Katie on a daily basis has my undying respect!" Tidus said laughing giving a fake bow in Carolyn's direction.  
"Can you believe she made Cedric run away with his tail between his legs?" Riku said smiling, "When he saw that arrow it looked like he was going to be sick!"  
"It seems like Carolyn is the only one who can get Katie to stop acting crazy. Imagine what she'd do otherwise." Lulu shuddered at the thought.  
"I can't believe she's a Pure Heart." Mia sighed.  
"Let's quit talking about Katie before I heave." Wakka sighed.  
"Hey guys!" Carolyn called running towards them. Katie wasn't anywhere in sight.  
"Hey where's the amazing crazy girl?" Tidus asked.  
"She had to go do something on the beach. Wanna play Blitzball?"  
"Sure!"  
  
An hour later...  
  
"Man! I can't believe we got our asses kicked by a kid!" Wakka yelled rubbing his head where Carolyn had smacked him with the ball.  
"Well it helps to be able to move objects with my mind." Carolyn said grinning.  
"Say, where'd our annoying friend get to?" Kairi asked.  
"There she is." Carolyn sighed pointing towards the shore. "Oh god what did she do?"  
There was a huge sandcastle right on the edge of the water. Katie was sitting in the middle of a large hole in the middle munching on a sandwich.  
"What are you up to?" Carolyn asked suspiciously as she and the other walked up to her.  
"I'm eating sandwiches in a sandcastle." Katie said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "Care to the join me?"  
  
"Sure, why not?" Everyone sighed and climbed into the hole. There was more than enough room (and sandwiches) for everyone. Carolyn was halfway through a baloney sandwich on rye when she stopped and dropped the sandwich. Her eyes were wide with terror.  
"What's wrong?" Mia asked her with a mouth full of turkey and bread.  
"Katie," Carolyn whispered. Her voice was shaky with fear. "Did you remember to build this sandcastle at least 30 feet away from the water?"  
"Nope." Katie said grinning stupidly.  
Everyone turned their heads around and froze. A huge tidal wave was headed towards them!  
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!" Everyone screamed just before the wave struck the beach and blew them back into the water and dragged them about 20 feet from shore.  
"Aw crap," Katie groaned spitting out water, "My sandwich is soggy!"  
"Aw shut up!" Carolyn snapped spitting out sand.  
They swam back to shore. It was then Riku noticed something was wrong.  
"Hey where's Mia?"  
"Last I saw she was thrown into the water with the rest of us." Yuna sighed.  
"You think she's still out there?"  
"No, Mia's a great swimmer. She's just gone." Katie said dropping her ruined sandwich to the ground.  
"Um, guys?" Rikku cried pointing at the sky.  
Everyone cocked their heads up towards the sky. They could see Cedric flying overhead. In his arms he held an unconscious Mia. He looked down at them and smirked. Then he vanished in a flash of light.  
"This does not bode well." Carolyn gulped.  
"You guys know what this means right?" Riku asked.  
"We got to make more sandwiches?" Katie asked dumbly.  
"No. It means WE'VE GOT ANOTHER ADVENTURE ON OUR HANDS!" 


	21. Inuyasha Makes a Brief appearence!

Disclaimer: In this chapter characters from the hit anime show 'Inu-yasha' make a brief appearence. This isn't important to the storyline in anyway. Katie and Caitlin insisted that I add this for comedy relief. For those of you who don't know what Inu-yasha is then just read it. You don't need to watch the show to enjoy this chapter.  
  
"We'll need some extra help this time." Carolyn said picking up her cell phone as everyone loaded the gummi ship.  
"Who you calling, the National Guard?"  
"No! I'm calling the rest of my guardians. They'll be able to help us take down that Freakazoid."  
She dialed a number and listened.  
"Yeah hi Tommy. OF COURSE IT'S ME SHIT-FOR-BRAINS! Oy, listen carefully. I need you and the others to meet us here on Destiny Islands right now! …Whadda mean only you and Caitlin can come? What about Sam and Lauren? Ok…fine. Just get over here."  
  
Carolyn hung up and sighed. "Katie's sister Lauren can't come and Sam is on vacation. Damn… We can't unleash my true powers unless all my guardians are present. Oh well my little brother and Caitlin will have to do."  
There was a flash of light and the boy and girl from the items shop in chapter 4 appeared.  
"Let's go kick some freak butt!" Tommy yelled punching the air. Caitlin lay down on the sand.  
"Ok then," She said waving her hand, "You guys go off and do whatever you have to while I get a tan."  
  
"THIS ISN'T A VACATION CAITLIN!" Cried Carolyn whose face was flushed with anger.  
Caitlin sighed and stood up. "Alright, alright. Crybaby."  
  
They were soon soaring through interspace on the gummi ship. Carolyn was piloting the ship. Everyone else was bored out of their minds. Sora was polishing his keyblade until it could blind someone just by looking at it. Tommy who was usually jumping around waiting eagerly to fight was now slumped over in his chair fast asleep. Riku was tapping his fingers on his armrest impatiently.  
Katie was reading a magazine called: 'Bumbling Sidekicks Digest'.  
Finally she threw the magazine down and screamed.  
"THAT'S IT! I'M SO BORED! I'VE READ THAT MAGAZINE A MILLION TIMES ALREADY! IF WE DON'T REACH HOLLOW BASTION SOON, I THINK I'M GONNA SCREAM!"  
"You just did." Carolyn chuckled.  
"GIVE ME THOSE CONTROLS! WE'RE LANDING THIS SHIP NOW!"  
"FORGET IT!"  
Katie lunged at Carolyn and knocked her to the floor. They were so busy fighting they didn't even notice when they knocked over Caitlin who'd been sketching a picture of everyone in the ship.  
"HEY WATCH IT YOU NIMRODS!"  
"WILL YOU TWO QUIT FIGHTING AND LOOK UP?!" Tidus yelled.  
Carolyn looked up and froze. They were about to crash into a large grassy field. Everybody screamed. Carolyn quickly got back into the pilot's seat.  
"Geez! Talk about learning to fly the UNEASY way!" She cried pulling back on the leaver. She turned to Katie who was sitting in the co-pilots seat. "Quick! Gimme a reading!"  
"My God I am sorry for my sins with all my heart," Katie prayed quickly, "In choosing to do wrong and failing to do good I have…"  
"WILL YOU CUT IT OUT?!" Carolyn shrieked.  
  
"SIT BOY!" Kagome yelled. Inu-yasha slammed into the ground.  
"What in the seven hells was THAT for?!" He yelled angrily.  
"I got bored." She said shrugging.  
"What's that up in the sky?" Miroku asked pointing at the sky. Kagome looked up. A huge spaceship was coming down towards them! They dove out of the way just in time.  
The door opened and a boy with silver hair and green eyes stepped out.  
"Riku get back in here!" A girl's voice yelled from inside. He ignored it and turned to them.  
"Um…hi. Did you guys happen to see a girl with blue eyes and red hair tied back in a braid?"  
They slowly shook their heads in shock.  
"DAMN! We're in the wrong spot!" He turned back to the ship, "Good news Carolyn, you're flying again!"  
Everyone else stepped out.  
"GREAT JOB KATIE!" Tidus yelled angrily smacking her on the back of the head.  
"I know this place!" Carolyn cried, "This is Feudal Japan! We must be in the world of my favorite anime show Inu-yasha!"  
"How'd she know my name?" Inu-yasha demanded.  
"Back on the ship everyone!" Carolyn called, "We've got a friend to save!"  
  
Katie and Caitlin had to be dragged back on.  
  
"STOP! NOOO! I BELONG HERE!" Katie wailed as she was tied to her seat.  
"I MUST GO BACK!" Caitlin sobbed.  
"They're huge Inu-yasha fans too." Tommy sighed.  
"Stop whining!" Carolyn yelled. Then she leaned in and whispered. "We'll come back on our way home to Destiny Islands."  
Katie and Caitlin grinned mischievously.  
  
"That was really disturbing." Inu-yasha said sounding confused as the strange ship was about to take off.  
Miroku smiled lecherously. "You know, some of those girls with them were really cute…"  
"Shut up."  
"I'm just saying, maybe we should go with them so they don't get hurt or something…"  
"DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!" Everyone yelled.  
The ship blasted off. 


	22. Red Rain

Disclaimer: I don'own a damn thing! Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy X are both the property of Squaresoft. The only thing I own are my copies of the game and my characters.  
  
Back on the ship Katie and Tommy had gotten bored and were now ramming their heads together laughing stupidly.  
"I cannot believe that is moi's brother." Carolyn grumbled, "NEXT THING YOU KNOW THEY'LL BE TALKING IN THE LANGUAGE OF THE IDIOTS!"  
"Hikabikaboo?" Katie asked.  
"Hoosha!" Tommy answered. They both burst out laughing.  
"Definitely NOT moi's brother." Carolyn sighed.  
  
Mia's head was pounding. The last thing she remembered was getting blasted out into the water and something striking her on the back of the head. She groaned and opened her eyes. She sat up and surveyed her surroundings. She was in a damp stone chamber. It was small and there were bars on the only door. She stood up and frantically pounded on the bars.  
"HELP! SOMEBODY! DOWN HERE! HELP ME!"  
Someone grabbed her and violently shoved her against the wall.  
"You'll raise the dead with that noise you're making!" An all too familiar voice snarled.  
Mia looked up. It was Cedric. She screamed and ripped herself free from him.  
"Mia, my love." Cedric chuckled, "You look as though you've just seen a ghost."  
"Close enough!" Mia cried.  
"I told you and the others I'd be back didn't I? But did you heed my warning? No." He took a step towards her.  
"What was the thing Carolyn told me to say?" Mia thought to herself, "Oh yeah!"  
She looked at him defiantly. "GET AWAY FROM ME YOU SCUMBAG!" She yelled. He stared at her with a puzzled expression.  
"Scumbag?"  
Mia turned and began pounding on the bars again.  
"HELP! SOMEBODY HELP ME!"  
Cedric chuckled. "Don't bother. You're voice cannot reach your friends where they are."  
Mia shuddered. His voice was so much like Ansem's it was scary. She glared at him.  
"Riku loves me." She said confidently, "He'll come save me. Then he'll mop the floor with you!"  
Cedric chuckled. "Not this time. For this time I finally have the perfect plan." As he spoke he tapped his sword in its sheath, which was hanging from a loop on his pants.  
"What are you going to do?" Mia asked as the color drained from her face.  
Cedric turned to leave the room.  
"My apologies for locking you in this dungeon. But I had to put you in the last place Riku would look."   
Then Mia noticed something odd. There was a line on his forehead. It looked like a closed eye. He left the room and slammed the door behind him. The bars slid back into place.  
Mia sat down in the corner and hugged her knees to her chest.  
"He'll come. He's got to."  
She sighed and nodded off into sleep.  
  
Mia was standing in darkness. There was nothing around her. Not a single glimmer of light could be seen. She looked behind her. Nothing was there. Suddenly an eerie voice began to whisper.  
"Hello Mia, Mia the pure-heart."  
"Huh? Who's there?" She cried looking around.  
"Power sleeps within you, but if you give it form it will aid you."  
"What do you mean?"  
Suddenly Cedric appeared. His eyes seemed to be staring off into space. The line on his forehead was there. Something was attached to him from behind.  
Mia recognized it as that shadow thing that had been attached to Ansem. Cedric seemed calmed by it.  
"Yes," It whispered to him, "Riku is responsible for your pain."  
"Yes, Riku is the source of my darkness." Cedric whispered. His voice sounded monotone.  
"If you kill Riku then your pain will die with him."  
"Yes...Riku must die."  
"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" Mia cried, "Riku didn't mean to kill anyone! He was just trying to save me!"  
Cedric didn't seem to hear her.  
"Riku killed your father..." The terrible thing hissed. It seemed to be poisoning his mind.  
"Yes..."  
"He's keeping Mia away from you..."  
"Yes..."  
"You must kill him...Avenge your father's death!"  
"I will...kill Riku. Avenge my father."  
"And that girl Carolyn...she must die too. She alone has the power to stop you."  
"She will die as well."  
"What are you doing?! Mia screamed, "STOP FEEDING HIM THOSE LIES!"  
She tried to punch Cedric across the face but her hand went clean through him. The shadow attached to Cedric wrapped its claws around him from behind. Cedric didn't seem to notice.  
Then the line on Cedric's forehead seemed to open wider. Mia thought she could see part of a glowing red eye beginning to open on his forehead.  
The shadow turned to Mia. She shuddered.  
"When my eye opens..." The creature hissed.  
Cedric seemed to sink into the shadow's body. He didn't thrash or struggle or cry out. He just closed his eyes and allowed it to swallow his body.  
  
And then the dream ended. 


	23. New Chapter In Which Carolyn Becomes Sug...

Disclaimer: THIS FIC IS NOT OVER! I don't know what gave people that idea! I was taking a little break from writing. The fic is FAR from over. Sorry 'bout the hiatus. ENJOY!  
Back on the gummi ship everyone had almost reached Hollow Bastion.  
  
Katie however didn't want to wait.  
  
"KATIE WANTS OUT!" Katie wailed pounding her fists against the door. She threw it open and was about to jump out into innerspace. But thankfully Tommy grabbed her and held her back.  
  
"NO! The world needs laughter!"  
  
"Hey is that an insult?!" Katie yelled.  
  
Suddenly Hollow Bastion came into view.  
  
"Check it out!" Tidus called. "We're here!"  
  
Carolyn looked out the window. "Just the thought of all the fighting we're going to do makes me wonder why the hell I should care."  
  
"We should sneak up on him." Caitlin explained, "We'll fly low and jump out of the ship."  
  
Carolyn hovered the ship over a forest near the castle. Katie stood at the open door ready to jump out.  
  
"Okay Katie," She thought to herself, "This is you're big chance. One of you're best friend's life is in danger. It's time to go save her!"  
  
She looked down at the forest below and froze.  
  
"Carolyn could you push me?" She wailed.  
  
"I already did!" Carolyn called. Katie looked down and realized she was falling.  
  
"Thank you!" Katie called before she landed on her head.  
  
Everyone else had a much safer landing.  
  
"Hey where'd Carolyn land?" Tommy asked looking around.  
  
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Carolyn's voice rang out. Suddenly she fell out of the sky and hit the ground. When the dust settled there was only the imprint of a human body going down 5 feet into the ground.  
Carolyn climbed out. The serious look was gone from her face and she looked dazed and confused. She was holding some sort of bag in her hands.  
  
"Whazzat?" Katie asked.  
Before Carolyn could answer Katie grabbed it out of her hands and looked at it. It was a large bag of sugar. It was empty.  
  
"Why did you have this?" Katie demanded.  
  
"It was the only food left on the ship!"  
  
"A WHOLE BAG OF SUGAR?!" Katie shrieked. "YOU'LL BE SUGAR-HIGH FOR MONTHS!"  
  
"Relax," Carolyn said causally, "My stomach is really strong, there's no way I'll..." Her voice trailed off. Her eyes widened and her pupils shrunk.  
  
"WHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" She shot forward down the forest path.  
  
"The evil one has come!" Katie cried. "It'll be like having TWO of me in the group!"  
  
Everyone threw their heads back and screamed: "NOOOOOOOOOOO!"  
  
The continued down the path. Carolyn's eye was twitching and she kept laughing at random moments.  
  
"I knew I should have had that sugar first." Katie grumbled.  
  
"God forbid." Kairi shuddered.  
  
"A whole 20-pound bag of sugar..." Riku grumbled, "Of ALL the foods in the world, it had to be that one!"  
  
"If she starts singing, I am SO out of here!" Sora yelled.  
  
Carolyn didn't get a chance to. At that moment a huge flock of bat-like creatures swooped down and grabbed everyone in their talons and took off. They left Katie behind however. She ran after them waving her arms.  
  
"WAIT! COME BACK!" Katie cried. "What?! I smell or something?!"  
  
She stopped and sniffed herself.  
  
"Awww..."  
  
She watched helplessly as the creatures took off towards the castle with her friends in their grasps.  
  
"WHEEEEEEEEE!" Carolyn cheered.  
The bats crashed through the stain-glass windows of the throne room with Riku and the others in their grasps. They released them and let them drop to the floor. Cedric was sitting in the throne smiling smugly. To everyone's great shock Katie was sitting in a chair against the wall. Her arms were folded and she had an angry look on her face.  
  
"WHY'D YOU BRING US HERE?!" Riku yelled standing up.  
  
"And why'd I have to take a cab?!" Katie demanded.  
  
"Well I wanted you to get here THIS CENTURY!" Cedric said rolling his eyes.  
  
Carolyn's sugar high seemed to be wearing off...a little. A golden bow appeared in her hand and a quiver full of silver arrows appeared on her back. She reached for one and placed it on the bow.  
  
"Hey Cedric! I'm known for my arrows never missing their mark! You feeling lucky punk?!" Carolyn snapped.  
  
"Ah yes. The girl with arrows." Cedric chuckled. He waved his hand. Suddenly the bow, arrows, and quiver flew from Carolyn and into Cedric's hands. The moment he touched her bow it transformed into a rotting wooden bow that seemed to be falling apart, and the silver arrows turned rusty.  
  
"What a piece of junk." Cedric chuckled, "I should be ashamed of myself for being afraid of this! But allow me to show you a weapon of true power!"  
  
He stood up and drew his sword from its sheath. But instead of his usual silver sword, this one was shaped like a black key with a silver handle. It had a key chain hanging off the end that looked like a small heartless insignia.  
  
"Behold, The Phantom Keyblade! Known to kill 100 heartless in a single stroke! It is the fourth and final keyblade."  
  
"Blah, blah, blah!" Riku said rolling his eyes. "The guys got a nice new sword to swing around and suddenly he's looking for a soapbox to stand on and preach to the world!"  
  
"Of course, I'd never waste the power of such a valuable weapon on you fools." Cedric smirked, "But I think I'll play around with a little before I kill you."  
  
Suddenly a trap door opened under Katie. She fell through screaming. Suddenly she fell out of a hole in the ceiling and seemed to be going in a circle.  
  
"EEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeee!" Katie wailed as she continued to plummet. Suddenly the hole in the ceiling closed and Katie finally fell through the one in the floor for good.  
  
"It's doing that thing again." Cedric grumbled folding his arms. Suddenly a trap door opened under everyone else. They all plummeted downward screaming. 


	24. Escape!

"Well that plan didn't work out." Tidus grumbled.  
  
"No shit Sherlock." Sora sighed rubbing his head.

They had all landed in a dungeon cell far below the castle. Katie was nowhere to be seen.

"Where is she?" Yuna asked looking around.

"Maybe she's rotting in a ditch somewhere if we're lucky." Riku said hopefully.

"That jerk!" Carolyn yelled, "He stole my bow and arrows!"

  
"So get a new one!" Riku shouted. "The important thing here is to kick Cedric's ass!"

"I CAN'T GET A NEW ONE! WE NEED TO GET IT BACK!"

  
"JUST DROP IT OKAY?!"

Meanwhile on the other side of the dungeon Mia was waiting patiently in her cell.

"What a freaky dream…what did it mean by 'When my eye opens?'" Mia shook her head back and forth.

"Damn it all! I'm sick of being the weak little girl that's always getting kidnapped! Riku's out there risking his neck for me and I'm just sitting here! Well no more!"

She grabbed a discarded board of wood off the floor. She then leaned out through the bars and struck the guard over the head. She grabbed his keys and unlocked the door.

"Wow it really worked!" She said grinning, "Why didn't I do that earlier…?"

She grabbed the unconscious guard's sword and took off looking for the exit.

Meanwhile back in their cell, Carolyn was tapping each bar of the cell in a hopeless attempt to find a switch. She kicked the bar in fury.

"That bastard!" She yelled, "He really pisses me off!" She stomped her foot in anger. Suddenly a stone tile gave way under her foot. The bars slid up, allowing them to leave.

  
"Carolyn!" Caitlin cried, "You found a hidden exit!"  
  
"Guess I did huh?" She said grinning sheepishly, "And to think, YOU wanted me to go to anger management!"

They hurried off into towards the exit.

"Katie!" Carolyn, Caitlin, and Tom called as they ran. Suddenly everyone froze. There was a small cage in the corner. Katie was sitting inside it huddled with terror. She was covered in cuts and bruises.

"JESUS TAP-DANCING CHRIST! WHAT HAPPENED TO _YOU_?!" Caitlin cried pointing at Katie.

"How did she get trapped like that?" Rikku asked.

"I don't know," Carolyn gasped, "She's the boss of all my guardians, so Cedric must've used some elaborate trap to capture her!"

Katie looked up and spotted them. "GUYS HELP!" She wailed, "A GUIENA PIG TRICKED ME!"

"Will someone please tell me why I'm not shocked?" Tidus moaned as everyone else had their heads bowed in disgust.

Meanwhile back in the throne room, Cedric was busy waving around Carolyn's rotting bow.

"No matter how I look at it, it's just a piece of junk. But when that little brat wielded it, it seemed to transform…I don't understand it at all."

Suddenly a small shadow heartless entered the room and bowed.

"M-My lord," It stuttered in fear, "Riku and his allies have escaped from the dungeons and are heading this way."  
  
"Heh," Cedric chuckled, "Oh I knew he'd get out. That was just me having a little fun."  
  
"Um…but that's not all, my lord," It gulped, "It seems as though Lady Mia has escaped from her cell as well!"

  
Cedric was so shocked that he fell off his throne.

"Wha…WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!" He roared as his eye twitched.

"Forgive me my lord!" It sobbed throwing itself at his feet.

"Foolish girl." He grumbled. He furiously handed Carolyn's bow to the heartless. "MAKE SURE THAT GIRL DOESN'T GET THIS BACK! I'll go deal with the pure-heart myself…"


	25. The Fourth Keyblade

"A guinea pig tricked you? That's the best excuse you could come up with?" Riku snapped at Katie as they hurried up the stairs away from the dungeons.

"I believe it." Carolyn sighed, "It's happened before…twice actually."  
  
 "One time she got her head stuck in a hamster cage!" Caitlin added, "It took all of us four hours to yank it off!"

  
 "Don't forget, it was YOUR idea to let them come!" Tidus snapped at Sora.

"Shut up! I was only-," He didn't get to finish. He'd collided with someone who'd been running in the opposite direction. He blinked and looked up at the person he'd collided with. It was Mia.

"Mia! You're okay!" Katie cried in relief.

"Yeah." She said standing up, "I knocked out the guard and broke out of my cell."  
  
 "Wow! Mia, that doesn't sound like you at all!" Rikku said sounding impressed.

"What?" Mia said in shock.  
  


Carolyn laughed and patted her on the back. "Hey no sweat! That was some great shit you pulled! I would've done the same thing…except I would've done it a lot sooner, but still…"

"You're not helping."

"Cell?" Riku said sounding nervous. "You were in the dungeon?"  
  
 "Yeah, in cell 27. Why do you ask?" Mia said frowning slightly.

"Uh…no reason."  
  
 "Hey Riku, weren't we in cell 25?" Katie asked.

"Shut up!" He hissed. But Mia had already heard.

"Riku darling," She hissed. Her voice was so cold it sent shivers down his spine. "Are you saying that you were only two cells away from me and you didn't even bother to check?"

"Well we were…uh…kinda in a rush to beat Cedric and everything…" He gulped.

"But didn't we come here to rescue Mia in the first place?" Katie chimed in.

"Quiet or I'll dribble you around the room a few times." Riku snarled.

"Oh I get it," Mia said putting her hands on her hips in anger, "Some petty fight with Cedric is more important than getting me out of a cramped, dark, dirty prison cell! You always have to play Mr. Macho don't you?! STUPID, STUPID, STUPID!"

"_I'M _STUPID?! LOOK WHO GOT KIDNAPPED JUST FROM FALLING IN SOME STUPID WATER!"

"Holy Crap!" Wakka cried slapping himself on the forehead, "They're fighting now!"

"How sweet," A cold voice drawled, "A lover's spat."

Everyone turned around. Cedric, (who else?) was standing on the other side of the hall. His arms were folded and he was leaning against the wall.

"Cram it asshole!" Riku snapped, "This has nothing to do with you!"  
  


"Heh. Well I suppose I should've expected this. It was too perfect to last. I shouldn't have bothered trying to break you two up, you're taking care of it yourselves!"

"Who said anything…" Riku growled, "ABOUT BREAKING UP?!"

Mia's eyes widened. She looked at Cedric's forehead. Then line on his forehead had opened. Mia thought she could see a red eye beginning to open under the eyelid.

"So it was an eye…" Mia whispered. "RIKU! HIS FOREHEAD!"  
  


Everyone turned their attention towards Cedric.

"Now that is WEIRD!" Tommy groaned.

"It looks as if it's an opening eye. But it's opening very, very slowly." Yuna said frowning.

"I'll just gouge that eye out of his head!" Riku yelled drawing his keyblade and running at Cedric. Cedric calmly drew the phantom keyblade and held it up. As the two swords collided a burst of red energy blasted him back into the wall.

"That does it!" Sora yelled. He drew his own keyblade and ran at Cedric. Cedric preformed a horizontal swipe before Sora even reached him. Another blast of energy knocked the young keyblade master off his feet.

"Are you okay?" Kairi asked kneeling by him.

"I'm fine." Sora said wiping a fleck of blood away from the corner of his mouth, "But where does he get all that power?"  
  
 "It must be that new keyblade of his!" Carolyn cried frantically.

"So he's got some new moves! Big whoop!" Riku snapped, "I'll slice off his arm along with that sword!" He started running towards Cedric, but Cedric jumped into the air and raised his sword above his head.

"THIS IS FOR MY FATHER!" He roared as his sword began to glow blood-red, "WHATEVER MADE YOU THINK YOU COULD DEFEAT _ME_?! CEDRIC, KING OF THE HEARTLESS!"

Author's Notes: HAHA! ANOTHER CLIFFHANGER!


	26. Showndown! Riku VS Cedric

Riku smirked. "There's a LOT that make's me think I can beat you. Like your cocky laugh for instance!"

Cedric's eyes narrowed. "YOU'RE REALLY PISSING ME OFF!" He roared. The eye on his forehead seemed to open a little bit more. He raised the keyblade and brought it down in a huge swipe. Riku was blown back with such a force that cuts seemed to burst open all over his body. He fell to the ground in pain.

"STOP!" Carolyn screamed running in front of Riku with her arms outstretched. "STOP IT! DON'T YOU SEE YOU'RE HURTING HIM?!"  
  


"Get out of the way Carolyn." Riku gasped staggering to his feet, "Cedric wouldn't think _twice_ about killing a girl."

Carolyn gulped and stepped out of the way reluctantly.

"You're wasting your time. BOTH keyblades are no match for this one!" Cedric laughed holding out the Phantom Keyblade. "Both of you must die."

"STRIKE RAID!" Sora and Riku yelled at once. They flung their keyblades forward. Cedric held up the Phantom Keyblade. He easily blocked Riku's keyblade but he wasn't quick enough to dodge Sora's. The handle stuck him hard in the stomach. The force of the blow caused him to vomit out some blood. He fell to the ground in pain.

"OH NO!" Katie cried running to his side, "Are you okay?"

"Why are you helping me?" Cedric growled.

Katie's eyes sparkled. "I love you." She said dreamily.

"Get away from me." Cedric snarled standing up and shooting Katie a look of deep revulsion.

"Oh!" Katie said sounding unfazed, "A challenge!"

"Katie, you have horrible taste in men." Yuna groaned.

"Oh yeah?! Like YOUR taste is any better!" Katie shot back.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!" Tidus yelled.

"Okay! Now the really fight starts!" Cedric roared. "HIT IT!"  
  
A shadow heartless appeared with a stereo. It started playing _'Baby Got Back'_. Everyone screamed and covered their ears and Cedric and Riku battled. Katie however was break dancing.

"I HATE THIS SONG!" Carolyn screamed. She waved her hand and a blast of her power blew up the stereo.

"Well done Carolyn." Caitlin said applauding, "Well done!"

"ENOUGH!" Cedric roared, "BLOOD SWORD!"  
  
Cedric's new Blood Sword was twice as strong as usual. Everyone was blasted off their feet. The wall imploded and the pieces disintegrated. When the dust settled there was a gaping hole in the wall. They could see a huge dense forest off in the distance.

"I got it!" Carolyn cried snapping her fingers. Her eyes were sparkling. She fished into her backpack and pulled out a zip line. She quickly tied it around a nearby torch. Then she used her psychic powers to have the other end fly out of the hole in the wall and wrap around the trunk of a tree.

"We can use these to slide down the line!" She cried holding out and huge handful of hooks. "Well?! What are you guys waiting for?! Someone to kiss you goodbye?!"  
  


"Well…" Katie sighed, "Nah…I guess that's pretty unlikely, huh? …Would be nice though."

Cedric took a quick step back away from Katie.

"LET GO OF ME!" Riku shouted as Sora, Tidus, and Wakka started to drag him towards the line, "I HAVE TO KILL CEDRIC! THAT BASTARD HAS HURT TOO MANY OF MY FRIENDS!"  
  


"Riku…" Mia said gently. But a stabbing pain cut her off from behind.

"MIA!" Riku screamed ripping himself free from his friends and standing up. Cedric had flung the Keyblade at Mia from behind. The tip of blade had sunk into her back right between the shoulder blades. She stumbled forward a few steps, the sword still in her back. She turned and looked at Cedric. Her eyes were full of tears.

Cedric had sunk to his knees. He was trembling. He looked up. Mia was shocked to see that tears had welled up in his eyes and were now pouring down his face.

"What have I done?" He gasped. "WHAT HAVE I DONE!?" His face wore a look of genuine remorse and guilt. He seemed almost gentle now. He jumped to his feet and started to run towards her. He stopped abruptly. He sank to his knees clutching his head in pain. Suddenly he stopped. He was no longer trembling. His face was now one of cold hatred.

"Stupid boy." A deep voice from within Cedric laughed, "Sorry, that one slipped out."

The sword flew out of Mia's back and into Cedric's hand. She groaned and fell over unconscious.

"Get her out of here!" Caitlin cried getting ready to slide down on the zip line. Riku quickly scooped up Mia and held her under his left arm. Everyone grabbed onto a hook. Katie quickly blew Cedric a kiss. He gagged and ducked. Everyone started to slide down towards the forest. Cedric grabbed the Phantom Keyblade and sliced through the line. Everyone plummeted downward screaming.

"I'll save me!" Katie cried grabbing onto the broken zip line.

"QUICK! EVERYONE GRAB HER!" Carolyn screamed. Everyone immediately grabbed onto Katie.

"NO! YOU'RE ALL TOO HEAVY!" Katie wailed. They plunged into an open sewer. (How'd that get there)? As they fell they flew past different levels and saw an assortment of creatures. Carolyn was pointing them all out as they fell.

"OH! MINERS!" She cried as they fell past another level, "WARLOCKS!"

They reached the bottom of the shaft.

"OH! MOLEMEN!"  
  
 "There is no escape from the fortress of the moles!" The mole king yelled.

Suddenly the zip line yanked them all back up like a bungee cord.

"Oh, except that."  
  
They were yanked out of the sewer and back onto solid ground just outside of the dense forest surrounding the castle.

"I never noticed all this forest before." Riku said looking at the dense forest in front of him. He still had Mia cradled in his arms.

"The castle was surrounded by fog when Ansem was still alive." Sora said frowning, "But now that Cedric's in charge it's all gone."  
  
 "Ansem must've made the fog cover the woods. But Cedric's more interested in killing and destroying than concealing his opponent's escape routes." Carolyn sighed, "We can use that to our advantage."

"Let's get into the forest!" Rikku cried, "We have to take care of Mia right away!"  
  
 "Hold on." Katie said turning towards the front gates on the castle. "There is one last thing I must do before I leave."  
  
She hurried up the long set of stairs that led up to the huge oak doors.

"What's she doing?" Wakka asked.

"I have no clue." Carolyn sighed, "Nor do I care."

When she reached the top of the stairs, Katie pulled a silver slinky out of her pocket and set it down at the top of the stairs and tapped it. It began to crawl down the stairs.

"ISN'T THIS INCREDIABLE?!" Katie squealed, "IT'S GOTTA BE SOME KIND OF RECORD!"  
  
As the slinky went down the stairs Katie marched alongside it singing: _"Everyone loves a slinky, you got to go get a slinky. Slinky, Slinky, GO SLINKY, GO!"_

Suddenly the slinky came to a stop right above the last step.

"OH MAN!" Katie cried, "CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?! IT WAS RIGHT THERE!" She picked up the slinky and gave everyone the puppy eyes. "Can I do that one more time?"

"Katie," Carolyn hissed, "In about a minute, Cedric's troops are going to head this way, AND MAKE US ALL DEAD!"

Katie's eyes narrowed. "Of course," She snapped putting the slinky away, "How selfish of me. Let's do all the things that YOU wanna do."

She stomped off towards the forest. Everyone hurried after her. Carolyn stopped suddenly and sniffed the air. Her pale blue eyes widened in fear.

"THE HEARTLESS! RUN FOR IT!" She screamed.

Everyone bolted. Suddenly there was a whooshing sound and a tranquilizer struck Katie in the arm.

"Starting to get numb!" She gasped as she ran. She was limping. After ten minutes of running she leaned against a tree and breathed a sigh of relief.

"I think I lost them…" She said in a strained voice. Suddenly twenty more tranquilizers struck her in the back.

"Hey…" She moaned feebly. She fell over and passed out.

"QUICK!" Carolyn yelled to Tidus and Wakka. "You guys carry her!"

"I got a better idea!" Tidus yelled. "Let's leave her!"

Carolyn spun around with fire in her eyes. "PICK HER UP NOW!" She roared in a deep booming voice.

Tidus picked her up and carried her on his back, grumbling in anger.

Hours later…

Stars sparkled in the night sky like diamonds sewn into blue velvet. It was in the middle of the woods. Everyone had set up a large bonfire since they had been unable to find the gummi ship. Mia was still out cold. She was dripping in sweat. Caitlin, (being a master of the healing arts) had given her some herbs but nothing seemed to help. Yuna was making futile attempts to close the wound with white magic.

"CUREGA!" She yelled for the 20th time. A white light surrounded Mia but the wound didn't close.

"It's no good." Yuna sighed gasping with exhaustion from her attempts, "There must be a spell on that Phantom Keyblade that keeps any major wound it inflicts from closing."

"Do something!" Riku cried at Carolyn. She glared at him.

"I've done all I can. She's become feverish. We need someone skilled in dark healing to save her. All we can do is make sure she's comfortable."

Katie who had regained consciousness leaned forward. "Maybe I can do it. I am the guardian of darkness. And I was brought over to the dark side once. The sorcerer that brainwashed me taught me every attack I know."  
  
 "All right! Katie you rock!" Tidus laughed. He stopped. "I can't believe I just said that."

Katie took a deep breath, wiped the sweat off her forehead, cracked her knuckles, and breathed on her hands. She held her hands over Mia.

"HEAL ALREADY!" Katie yelled stupidly. Nothing happened. "Well, there you go. I've done all I can do."  
  
 "That wasn't enough!" Lulu snapped. "Even now, her life is slipping away!"

"Perhaps I can be of some assistance." A strangely familiar voice hissed.

A man stepped out of the woods. Everyone immediately jumped to their feet and got into a fighting stance. A silver light surrounded him. He had silver hair and golden cat-like eyes.  It was Ansem.

"YOU!" Riku shouted. Then he realized Ansem had his eyes locked on Mia. Riku stepped in front of her protectively. "YOU STAY AWAY FROM HER YOU FILTH!"

"Get out of my way." Ansem growled. Riku lunged forward to punch him. His hand went right through him.

"You-You're a…" Riku gasped. His arm was still through Ansem's chest.

"Yes." Ansem said coldly, "See what I have become? See what you have done? Now, step aside."  
  
Ansem didn't wait for a response. He punched Riku across the face. Riku fell to the ground spitting out blood. Ansem knelt by Mia. He held his hands over her. Suddenly the wound vanished and the blood dried up. Mia's eyes snapped open.

"ANSEM?!" She screamed in terror. She stood up and jumped back. "Wh-What do you want?!"

"I want…" Ansem said looking at everyone, "To thank you."  
  
"WHA?!" Everyone cried.

"I thought my heart was lost to darkness forever. It was like a nightmare but I couldn't wake up from the eternal torture. But when Riku killed me, my soul was set free. So now I'm what you would call a ghost. I only left the afterlife to speak to you."  
  
 "Hey pal!" Riku growled, "While you've been living it up in the afterlife, we, the heroes, have been having some serious problems with that offspring of yours."

"Ah yes," Ansem said sitting down and drumming his fingers on the ground, "Cedric. Yes, he…well…you could say his mind is not his own anymore."

"What's that mean?" Tom asked. Ansem sighed.

"It means Cedric no longer has any will of his own. He is being controlled like a puppet."

Author's Comments: HAHA! Another cliffhanger! Is Cedric really the bad guy? What happened to him that made a sweet innocent boy become the most hated person in this fic? Find out in the next chapter!


	27. Eye of Evil

Author's Comments: In response to a question I received, I am NOT Mia, I am Carolyn. (Though I wish I was Mia). And yes, Katie is my best friend in real life. She had me put in those jokes and insane things she does because she says that's what she'd do if that were really happening to her. Well one thing is absolutely sure, when I'm hanging out with her and Caitlin it's never boring.

"BULL!" Riku shouted instantly, "YOU'RE JUST TRYING TO PROTECT THAT SAD EXCUSE FOR A HUMAN BEING!"

"That 'sad excuse for a human being' happens to be my only son." Ansem said coughing slightly.

"Then who or what is controlling him?" Mia asked.

"Well, I…" Ansem stopped. Katie was jerking her head from side to side snapping her mouth open and shut.

"What are you doing?" Rikku asked obviously confused.

"I'M TRYING TO BITE MY OWN EAR!" Katie yelled in frustration. Then she went back to her futile attempts.

"Uh…Carolyn?" Ansem gulped, "Katie's behaving strangely. I'm concerned."

"I've been concerned about Katie since the day I met her." Carolyn said not looking up from her 'Reluctant Heroes' magazine.

"And how long ago was that?"

"Five years."  
  
 "MAY GOD HAVE MERCY ON YOUR SOUL!"

"Back to the story old man," Tidus snapped, "What about Cedric? If he's being controlled like you say, then who's responsible?"

"I'm afraid it's my fault," Ansem sighed, "After his mother died I wasn't strong enough. He became twisted as I fell to darkness. When I first tried to unleash the heartless on the universe it was my own doing. That demon that was attached to me when I battled Sora was a specially designed heartless I used to increase my dark powers. It was born from the keyhole in Hollow Bastion.

"But when Sora defeated me with the light within Kingdom Hearts, my body was too weak to continue on its own. From then on my life force was sustained because of the demon. Eventually my body became dependant on it, and it developed a will of its own. It began to use my body as a puppet. I was a prisoner within my own heart. But I do not place all the blame on it. It was my dark nature that caused it to do this."  
  
Ansem was silent for a moment. Then he continued. "After my body was destroyed and my soul was set free, the demon no longer had a host. It needed a new body to take hold of in order to continue living." Ansem drew a sharp breath, "It chose my son."  
  


"That doesn't change the fact that he's still a violent maniac!" Kairi yelled.

"It's understandable," Carolyn said turning towards Kairi, "He'd just lost his father, I bet the demon poisoned his mind when his heart and faith had been weakened."

"How'd you guess?" Ansem said sounding impressed at Carolyn's knowledge on the subject.

"Happened to Katie." Carolyn explained, "She was jealous of my power and fame and her heart was easily corrupted by darkness."

"Sorry 'bout that by the way." Katie said grinning sheepishly.

"Cram it!" Carolyn growled, "I still got a scar on my back from our duel!"

"But it's cool!" Katie whined, "If you squint and look at it from an angle it kinda looks like a lightning bolt! You're like Harry Potter! You just have to take your shirt off for people to see!"

"YES!" All the boys urged. "DO IT!"

  
 "Didn't I just tell you to cram it?!" Carolyn screamed. Her face was flushed red with embarrassment.

"Cedric probably went along with the demon's went along with the demon's plan for vengeance. He must've allowed Cedric a bit of control so he wouldn't get suspicious. That's why Cedric was able to fall in love with Mia. But the demon is beginning to think that this emotion would make Cedric realize how close he is to eternal torment."  
  
Ansem sighed. He was absent-mindedly plucking at the grass.

"Did you see that eye beginning to open on his forehead? When the eyes opens fully Cedric will be turned completely towards darkness. His soul will be devoured and the demon will take over."

"When will it open?" Sora asked.

"At midnight tonight. After that there will be no hope for my son. The light will be gone from his being. So now I must ask something of you, young keyblade masters…"  
  
 "What?" Riku asked. He and Sora were listening closely.

Ansem seemed very reluctant to be saying this. He was shaking as he spoke. "I want you…" He choked, "To kill him for me."

Silence fell over the campsite. Everyone stared at him in shock. Ansem had his head bowed. He seemed disgusted at himself. Finally Riku jumped to his feet and broke the silence.

"YOU WHAT?!" He shouted at Ansem.

"Put him out of his misery, please." Ansem begged, "I can't bear to see him like this."

"YOU WANT US TO KILL YOUR ONLY SON?!" Mia shrieked standing up, "MY GOD! WHAT KIND OF FATHER ARE YOU?!"

"But…"

"Listen," Riku sighed calming down slightly, "I understand that you don't want your son to suffer. But that's no reason for him to die! You want him out of his misery?! MY GOD! THAT'S WHAT WE DO TO OUR PETS! NOT OUR KIDS!"

"I thought we neuter our pets." Katie said stupidly.

"Katie, you have no idea how wrong that just sounded." Carolyn groaned.


	28. A Clue to Victory

Author's Comments: I am SO sorry about the lack of chapter updates! First I was on vacation in Florida, then I left the disk at Katie's house, then SHE went on vacation. So I had to wait a whole week before I could upload the chapter. Sorry again!

"Then what do you suggest we do?!" Ansem snapped, "How can we exorcise the demon now when we couldn't last time you fought me?!"

"Last time we didn't have Carolyn with us." Katie said confidently, "With her skills it should be enough to take him down, right?"

"No," Ansem sighed, "No mere mortal girl can kill the beast within him. It is not of this world!"  
  


"Who you callin' a mere mortal?!" Carolyn yelled furiously.

"And even if you did kill him it wouldn't do you any good. Kill him, and it's Cedric who dies!"

Ansem stopped. He seemed to be in deep thought. "Tell me, the first time you fought Cedric…did you see any kind of attacks the Cedric seemed especially scared of?"

"YES!" Mia cried instantly, "CAROLYN! YOUR ARROW! IT SCARED THE CRAP OUT OF HIM!"  
  


"That's right!" Carolyn gasped, "Any arrow I use possesses holy powers! So maybe the demon within him was burned by the light!"

"You can shoot enchanted arrows?" Ansem said in shock. He laughed and shook his head. "I guess I was wrong about you being a mere mortal!"  
  
 "Damn straight!" Carolyn smirked.

"You're a mere mortal with archery skills!"

Carolyn slapped herself on the forehead.

"But it might hold the clue to victory!" Ansem cried, "If that arrow causes the demon so much pain, then an arrow in the heart would force it from Cedric's body!"

"Right!" Caitlin chimed in, "Carolyn's arrows have the power to completely cleanse anything of darkness! That includes hearts! If a monster, demon, or heartless is struck by one of them then it will be cleansed into nothingness. But if it hits someone that's being possessed by a demon then it will distract the monster long enough for Cedric to come out!"  
  
 "I can already see two small problems with this plan." Carolyn sighed, "One: how the heck am I gonna hit Cedric in the heart? My aiming is no problem, but he moves way too fast!"

"This is where Riku and Sora come in," Ansem explained, "They'll have to fight and weaken Cedric until they can hold him down while you shoot him with the arrow!"

"Problem Number Two: CEDRIC STOLE MY BOW AND ARROWS!" Carolyn yelled.

"Oh, well that's IS a bit of a problem." Ansem gulped rubbing the back of his head. "You'll have to steal it back while Cedric is distracted. It doesn't have to be that one bow does it?"  
  
 "No…"  
  
 "Then I'm sure you'll be able find ONE bow and arrow set in the castle."

"It'll take a lot more than my arrows to kill the demon once it's out of Cedric's body." Carolyn said turning to the others.

"We'll give it everything we got!" Tommy said nodding, "Once the demon is exorcised we'll make our move!"

"Right!" Sora said clenching his fist. He stood up and smiled. "Come on everyone! Let's go save Cedric!"


	29. The Demon Within

In the castle...

"Insane!" Cedric yelled slamming his fist down on the armrest of his throne. "Once again she took off with the idiots! What's Riku got that I don't?!"

"You want the short or long list master?" A shadow heartless asked.

"The short one."

Two hours later...

"Reason 7000: He's a hero and you're a villain." The heartless recited. Cedric sat on his throne looking more and more pissed with each reason. "Reason 7001: He has neat silver hair and you have that freaky blue kind. And that concludes the short list. Would you like the long list master?"

"NO!" Cedric roared slamming his fist down on his armrest causing the room to shake. The heartless whimpered in terror. "BRING ME MY SEEING STONE!" Cedric ordered. The heartless dashed out of the room leaving the fuming Cedric alone.

  
"Now that I have a moment I can catch up on my evil plotting." Cedric sighed. He folded his hands and thought deeply. "Yes...yes...that's evil...yes...that's gonna be good!"

Suddenly the heartless came back holding a pedestal that was twice its size. It was a white pedestal with a red orb on top of it. The heartless plugged it into the wall using a black extension cord.

"Now..." Cedric growled, "Show me Riku." The seeing stone glowed and the red smoky substance inside of it began to swirl to form an image. It was Riku and his friends hurrying through the forest back towards the castle. That fool Katie was telling them some sort of story about herself.

"…And that's how I defeated the mighty possum king!" She finished triumphantly.

Carolyn held up her index finger. "You smell that? It's bullshit."

  
Everyone snickered.

Katie was furious. "IT IS _NOT _BULLSHIT! IT'S THE TRUTH!"

"Oh really?" Carolyn said sarcastically, "Well if that's the truth, lemme ask you something. Did they ever catch that gorilla that escaped from the zoo and punched you in the eye??"  
  
Katie, realizing that she'd been exposed, looked down at her shoes and sighed. "No…he's still at large."

Cedric stared into the seeing stone in amazement. He shook his head and smiled. And those fools were supposed to be the heroes? Oh boy, this was going to be _too_ easy!

"Don't get cocky boy." The demon inside him growled.

"Shut up you!" Cedric snarled back.

"You're getting to be a real pain boy… I think it's time I took matters into my own hands."  
  
Cedric frowned. "What do you mean?"

"You still haven't figured it out. You're stupider than you look."

Suddenly Cedric felt a sharp pain shoot through his heart. He staggered back clutching his head in pain. He collapsed to his knees screaming in pain. Suddenly his golden cat-like eyes began to glow red and his fingernails grew long and sharp like claws.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?!" Cedric screamed.

"Stupid little boy!" A mocking voice echoed throughout his mind. Suddenly he felt himself lose all control of his body.

"You little fool. Did you honestly think I cared about you're stupid vengeance? Your father was a weirdo. The worlds a lot better place without him. He was just a host to me, there are a million more where he came from!"

"YOU SON OF A…" Cedric tried to scream but he was no longer in control of his voice.

"Riku and his pitiful friends were just bystanders to his death." The demon went on, "When Riku pulled the pure-heart from his core he was only trying to save the girl. But tricking you into hating him worked out better than I could've ever imagined. Now the time draws near. Riku and his friends get closer with every step. Soon all three keyblade masters will be in my grasp!"

"Foul scum!" Cedric gasped, "10000 DEATHS ARE NOT ENOUGH FOR YOU!"  
  
 "Save the drama for your mama."

"You won't get away with this." Cedric growled.

"My dear boy. I already have."


	30. Visions of Fate

Author's Notes: Sorry about the long wait! Here's Katie and Caitlin with a brief explanation as to why my fanfics take so long to update:  
  
Caitlin: Welcome ladies and germs. Now you've probably noticed that Carolyn takes a REALLY long time to update her stories. So I'm here with Katie to provide an explanation to why that is.

Katie: Hiya!

Caitlin: The main reason is that now that high school has started, Carolyn's schedule is taken up by a number of activities. Such as: Homework, working on the schools literary magazine, school, and working on a novel she's hoping to someday publish.

Katie: All which leaves her very tired when it comes time to write up the next chapter.

Caitlin: Carolyn also has a second job that keeps her very busy. For she is…PANTS GIRL! Defender of truth, justice, and…um…pants. If she was writing all the time, who would defend us from evil?? The Canadian military? I think not!

Katie: That and she's a lazy bastard.

Carolyn: See if I protect YOUR pants anymore!

Caitlin: Now onto the next chapter.

Our heroes, of course, knew none of this. They were still traveling through the forest. …Oh wait, scratch that. They'd just reached the EDGE of the forest.

"So remind me again why we left the safety and comfort of our own world to help these guys fight the darkness?" Carolyn asked Katie.

"Because it's the right thing to do!" Katie responded. "It's our destinies to fight any darkness that might threaten our world!"  
  
 "…Wait." Carolyn said frowning. "If we're supposed to fight any darkness that threatens OUR world then why are we worried about someone else's world?"

"WELL WHAT DO YOU SUGGEST WE DO WITH OUR VACATION TIME?!" Katie screamed throwing her arms up in frustration.

Carolyn glared at her. "Okay 'chuckles' next time _I _pick the adventure."

"Phooey!"

Katie turned to face Carolyn and make another insult, but she stopped. Carolyn's eyes had rolled back into her head and she looked dazed. "You're a loony."

"I know that!" Carolyn yelled snapping out of it. "But I just had a vision!"  
  


"A…A vision?" Tidus asked in amazement. "How?"

"She's psychic." Katie quickly explained.

"Really?" Kairi asked.

"Yes…" Carolyn gulped. She seemed kind of embarrassed about it. "I'm telepathic. And I just saw a vision for our fight with Cedric."

  
 "Wait. If you saw the battle then you must know how it turns out right?" Yuna asked.

"Well…a few minutes ago I had no clue how this thing was going to end. But now I have the whole thing beautifully laid out in my mind!"

"GREAT!" Rikku cried. "So will we be able to beat Cedric?"  
  
Carolyn sighed. "Well, it's going to be one long, nasty, tough, battle. And there'll be plenty of humorous lines. But unfortunately that's all I can tell you. No one should know too much about their own future."

"…You're a loony." Katie repeated.

Carolyn completely ignored her friend's comment. "Okay everybody," She called out to her friends, "Fate's already decided how our story will end, now it's just a matter of doing what we do best. KICKING DEMON ASS!"

Everyone stared at her. She sighed. "Oh let's just go."

They started towards the castle. To Invisible species of heartless were floating around by the entrance.

"GUARDS!" Carolyn hissed hiding behind a bush. "HIDE!"  
  
Riku however leapt forward. "And just WHAT will you accomplish by hiding?" He drew his keyblade. "OUT OF MY WAY WEAKLINGS!" He sliced through them easily.

"Now why didn't I think of that?" Carolyn sighed. Everyone bolted through the huge oak doors of the castle. As they hurried through the hallways countless swarms of heartless attacked. Sora and Riku sliced through them, while everyone else picked off the stragglers.

"HEY! SAVE SOME FOR US!" Tidus yelled.

"NO TIME!" Sora called back to his friend as they continued running.

They finally reached the throne room. Cedric was standing there with his back to them. He was gazing out the large stain-glass window in front of him. He was clutching a glass of wine in his right hand.

"Hey, isn't he underage?" Katie said frowning.

Riku jumped forward. "OKAY PAL! IT'S TIME WE FINISHED THIS ONCE AND FOR ALL!"

Cedric turned his head slightly. The eye on his forehead seemed to have grown wider, but thankfully it still wasn't fully open. His eyes fell on Riku. He scoffed and turned back to the window. He threw the glass of wine to the ground. It shattered as the red liquid spilled across the floor. "Get out of my sight while I'm still in the mood to let you live." He growled.

"What did you just say?" Riku growled. He bolted forward. "NEVER TURN YOUR BACK ON ME!"

Cedric calmly held his hand out behind him. Riku bounced off an invisible barrier a few feet from his intended target. He landed on the floor near Cedric.

"Fool." Cedric growled. "You never had a chance against me to begin with. Just look out that window."  
  
Riku cautiously crawled forward until he was right next to Cedric. He'd never been that close to Cedric unless he was battling him. He felt a little dizzy. Darkness seemed to radiate from Cedric's body. Riku looked out the large window that stretched from the ceiling to the floor. It had a view of the forest far below. Riku's mouth dropped open in shock. A gigantic swirling cloud of darkness was beginning to form over the forest.

"All off the Heartless have been broken down, and their powers have been added to that cluster of energy. Once it is complete, I will unleash it on every world in existence! All will be plunged into darkness! No one will be spared!" He threw his head back in a maniacal laugh.

"You…YOU FRAUD!" Riku roared. He grabbed his keyblade and lunged at Cedric. Cedric reacted more quickly however. He jumped into the air, dodging the blow. Suddenly a black twisted vine-like spell burst up from the floor and wrapped itself around Riku tightly, lifting him high above the floor.

"RIKU!" Mia screamed. She started to run towards him, but Rikku and Lulu grabbed her and held her back.

"Mia don't!" Lulu snapped as she and Rikku struggled to hold onto her.

"He'll be killed!" She wailed in terror.

Cedric hovered above Riku. His eyes blazed with hatred. Riku noticed they were now red instead of golden. His nails had also grown longer and sharper. "Dare you call me a fraud, MORTAL?" He snarled coldly. Riku glared at him.

"I head that story!" Riku shouted, "If Carolyn hits you in the heart with an arrow you'll be forced from Cedric's body, you stinking demon!"  
  


Cedric/the demon smirked. "Let's just see you try and take this body from me!" Cedric pointed his keyblade and Riku and flew at him. At the last possible moment, Riku ducked his head. The sword struck the wall. There was a flash of red light the wall crumbled into dust.

"He…He turned the wall to ash!" Caitlin gasped.

Cedric smiled and pointed the blade at Riku. "Now it's your turn." He dove downward with his word pointed at Riku determined to cut his throat and end his life in an instant…

Author's Comment: *does a little dance* Yay! A cliffhanger!


	31. Switcharoo Spell? How Uncreative!

Author's Notes: Okay… Let me make one thing clear to all you loyal readers out there…I AM NOT CANDAIAN! NEITHER IS KATIE OR CAITLIN! Sorry 'bout that. I'm not mad at anyone, I just put the words in capitalization so everyone would see right away. I was only joking around with Canada. I haven't got any problems with that country. And no, Mia is not a real person. She and Cedric are products of my caffeine-soaked mind. On with the story!  
  


Cedric plunged downward; his sword was out in front of him in a stabbing position as he zipped towards Riku. As he was in range, Cedric's blade slashed through the air. It was a perfect clean swipe, full of force that would have torn through Riku's windpipe before severing his spinal cord and beheading him.

But it didn't hit Riku.

Because he wasn't there.

Carolyn was in his place. Cedric was so stunned by this sudden turn of events that he lost concentration for a brief moment. If he had continued as normal, he would've surely taken off Carolyn's head. But thankfully, his aim was a few inches too high. So it missed Carolyn's throat, but it severed several strands of her short blond hair.

"HEY! LEAVE MY HAIR OUT OF THIS!" Carolyn screamed as Cedric shot past her. She was now wrapped in the same binds as Riku had been. Cedric hovered a few feet above her. He looked thunderstruck.

"But…But…" He gasped in horror, "How…How did she… WHAT THE FUCK'S GOING ON HERE?!" His eyes fell on Riku's group of friends. Riku was now standing in the exact same spot Carolyn had been standing in moments ago. He was looking just as confused as Cedric. In fact, the only person that didn't look confused was Carolyn. Despite the fact she was hanging high above the floor, she was smiling smugly.

"I always wondered when that spell would come in handy." She said grinning ear-to-ear.

"What spell?!" Cedric cried. He seemed so upset he was almost on the verge of tears.

"It's a spell that allows you to switch places with one of your comrades in battle!" Carolyn said beaming triumphantly, "I learned it on the internet! I call it the Switcharoo spell!"  
  
 "I better tell Carolyn to teach me that spell when this is all over…" Katie murmured, "Mastery of the switcharoo spell will be mine!"

"You little brat…" Cedric snarled. Suddenly he lunged at her. "I'LL RIP YOUR HEAD OFF!"

Suddenly something jumped up and knocked Cedric off balance. He and his attacker rolled to the floor. The binds holding up Carolyn shriveled up and vanished. She fell to the ground and landed with a thud.

"Now…" Cedric's attacker growled. Cedric looked over at whoever had knocked him over. It was Riku, and he looked PISSED. "Now that your done threatening a defenseless girl, it's time to deal with me!"

Riku drew his keyblade. "Carolyn! Find your bow and arrows! Quick!"

Carolyn nodded and scrambled to her feet. She stopped suddenly and looked at the digital watch around her right wrist. It read: 11:55.

"GUYS!" She screamed, "WE'RE IN A LOAD OF HORSESHIT HERE! IT'S FIVE MINUTES UNTIL MIDNIGHT!"

"All the more reason to hurry!" Sora yelled as he drew his own keyblade. He and the others all dove into the fight against Cedric.

"Find my…" Carolyn grumbled as she left the room and hurried down the stairs. "How in the hell am I supposed to find my arrows in this huge castle? Cedric will lose his soul before I find it! And I bet it's really well hidden too! I mean Cedric wouldn't just leave it lying around…" She stopped. Propped against the wall in the corner of the hall was her bow and her quiver full of arrows.

"Aw man." Carolyn said rolling her eyes. "He is just not trying anymore!" She knelt down and picked up her bow. At her touch, the arrow transformed from its rotted form back to it's shining golden form. She strapped her quiver full of arrows to her back. As she did so, the arrows changed from rusty back to their normal silver color.

She hurried back up the stairs. Cedric looked like he was having a rough time holding everybody off. Yuna had just summoned Shiva, the room was now covered in Diamond Dust aftereffects and Tommy was whining about a severe case of frostbite. Tommy then quickly cast a fire spell. (Being guardian of fire after all). And thus, everyone was saved from an icy death. But unfortunately Tommy forgot how weak Shiva is to fire and down the aeon went.

"GUYS!" Carolyn screamed waving her bow, "I found it!"  
  
 "GOOD! NOW SHOOT HIM!" Tidus yelled. He had grabbed Tommy by the hair and was shaking him back and forth as punishment for defeating their own aeon. Tommy was thrashing in an attempt to get free. It was really a pathetic sight to see.

Carolyn strung up an arrow and fired at Cedric. Cedric however, saw it coming. He grabbed Katie and held her in front of him. The arrow missed by several millimeters.

"Sorry 'bout that." Cedric said apologetically to Katie. Katie smiled happily at him.

"Oh don't worry. That happens to me everyday. So…how about a date?"  
  
 "Not if hell itself froze over."

Suddenly the eye on Cedric's forehead seemed to burst wide open. He staggered backwards screaming and clutching his forehead in pain.

Carolyn's face went pale. She looked at her watch again. To her horror, it read: 11:59, with only 10 seconds left until midnight.

"RIKU! SORA!" Carolyn screamed, "HOLD HIM!"  
  
"How much time do we have?" Sora shouted.

"NONE! HOLD HIM!"  
  
While Cedric was staggering with pain, Riku and Sora ran up and held his arms behind his back.

"LET GO OF ME YOU FOOLS!" Cedric snarled in a demonic voice. But Sora and Riku held on tight.

"SHOOT HIM NOW!" Sora screamed.

"Please hit!" Carolyn whispered as she drew back on the bow and fired the arrow at Cedric. It zipped forward towards Cedric as everyone held their breaths and prayed for a miracle…

Author's Comments: 'NOTHER CLIFFHANGER!


	32. If you didn't see that coming, you might...

Disclaimer: I am so sorry about taking this long to update. But a few weeks ago, something awful happened. My very first humor-themed story titled 'Behind the Terror' was taken off fanfiction.net by the cruel tyrannical staff. I sent the jerks an email POLITELY asking them why they took it off. I expected a response to come soon, so that I could change my story and repost it.  
  
They never responded.  
  
Those assholes didn't even have the common courtesy to give me a response. They just took off my story without giving me a reason. For the last few weeks I've been drained, I felt like the wind has been taken out of my sails. I began to question being a writer (which has been my lifelong dream since I was eight).  
  
But now I've recovered from my loss. I can still look at the original story in its backup files. But now the public can never view it again. (Until I get it up on my website anyway). So I'm currently typing it in a completely different format. It still has most of the old jokes, along with a TON of new ones, only this one will actually have a small plot, (no matter how stupid it is). It will be up soon.  
  
Once again, I'm sorry for the hiatus. It wasn't fair to you guys and I hope we can put this behind us.  
  
(And one final note to the readers of my 'Guardians of Magic 2' story, I have a mild case of writer's block when it comes to that story. But I'm getting some ideas for the next chapter, so it should continue very soon).  
  
The arrow stuck its mark perfectly.  
  
Cedric's body went limp for a moment. His eyes were wide with shock. His blood-red eyes flickered to their normal gold color, then back to red, then gold again. Red, gold, red, gold, back and forth repeatedly in a matter of two seconds. The arrow jutted out of Cedric's chest. His chest heaved as he drew shuddering breaths of air. Suddenly there was a flash of black light. Sora and Riku were both blown back. They watched as Cedric's head jerked from side-to-side. He reached up with a shaky arm and grabbed his head and held it steady.  
  
"No." Cedric growled in his normal voice, "NO MORE!"  
  
With those words, Cedric threw his head back and opened his mouth, as if he were about to scream. But no sound came out. Instead a large black shadow emerged from Cedric's open mouth. He fell to the ground and lay still. The arrow in his chest faded and then vanished. The shadow hung ominously over the room.  
  
Carolyn sank slowly to her knees. She was smiling weakly. "I.did it." She gave a sigh and fell to the ground facedown and lay as still as Cedric.  
  
"Is she okay?!" Kairi cried.  
  
"She should be okay!" Caitlin called back. "She's gotten used to losing the massive amount of spirit energy from using the Omega Arrow. She should wake up in a few minutes."  
  
Suddenly an evil cackle filled the room. It began to rumble. Everyone struggled to stand upright.  
  
"What is this?!" Yuna cried as she grabbed onto the wall for support.  
  
The shadow that hung over the room began to twist and morph. Finally, it took on the shape of Ansem's demon guardian. (Remember? The one attached to him at the end of Kingdom Hearts). Only it was MUCH larger this time.  
  
"The girl's not a normal human is she?" The demon sneered hovering over Carolyn. It grinned, bearing it's rows of razor-sharp teeth. "I shall devour her and make her a part of me!"  
  
"Stay away from my sister!" Tommy yelled. He drew a sword that's blade was made out of fire. He ran at the demon screaming a battle screech. The demon casually lifted its right hand. Tommy stopped suddenly. The small boy was lifted off the floor, and with a cry he was hurled backwards. He skidded across the floor, he was now far from being able to help his sister. The demon smiled and turned its attention back to Carolyn. But before it could attack the defenseless girl, it felt a sharp pain tear through its back. Everyone looked to see who had dealt the blow.  
  
Cedric stood there. His breathing was heavy, on account he'd been in mortal agony a few minutes ago, but he was holding the Phantom Keyblade in both hands and was glaring furiously at the demon.  
  
"I owe that girl my sanity." Cedric growled. "I will not sit idly by and let you devour her soul!"  
  
"Pitiful human." The demon snarled. "Meddling in things you can't possibly understand! Just like your parents!"  
  
Cedric stopped at the mention of his parents. "You knew them."  
  
"Yes boy. I did. Do you remember how your mother died?"  
  
"She died when my father used her in an experiment." Cedric said forcing back tears of anger. "But she asked him too, so I don't blame him for killing her."  
  
"Wrong again lad." The demon sneered coldly. "I killed her! Your mother's death brought about my existence! Your father thought the experiment was a failure, what he didn't realize was that it created me! I was only a newborn spirit however, so I sealed myself up in the Hollow Bastion keyhole. There, I fed on the darkness and became stronger, until you father unleashed me and I possessed him, and eventually I killed him too!"  
  
Those words seemed to hit Cedric like multiple slaps in the face. His eyes widened in horror. Tears of anger and grief began to spill down his face. Up until now, Riku had only viewed Cedric as a selfish invincible prince, who only cared about himself. But here he was, crying over someone else. He seemed human for the first time. Riku realized that that boy was the REAL Cedric, full of human emotions, and most of all, full of pain.  
  
"Mother." Cedric whispered tearfully, "Father." His eyes narrowed as he glared at the demon. "That was you." He gripped his phantom keyblade tightly. Suddenly he bolted towards the demon, his sword raised, and his eyes full of animal rage. "MURDERER!"  
  
The demon smirked and casually raised its hand. Cedric suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. He screamed in agony. It seemed like some invisible force was attacking his body. He fell to the ground, grinding his teeth in pain, his eyes squeezed shut. Katie ran and knelt by him.  
  
"I'LL HELP YOU!" She cried. She raised her hands, about to perform a healing spell, but Cedric weakly raised a single hand.  
  
"No offense, but I'm sure you would just make it worse."  
  
Carolyn groaned softly. Her eyes slowly cracked open. At first she wore a confused expression that immediately turned into a look of fear when she saw the demon looming over her. She gasped in horror.  
  
"Now I'll steal your soul and make it mine!" The monster roared. It lunged forward and Carolyn screamed. 


	33. If you saw that coming, you might be psy...

Disclaimer: So begins the final battle in this fanfic, my friends. It's been fun, but now it will soon come to an end. But don't worry, I'm planning to make a sequel to this fanfic. And even though the actual story will end in a few chapters, you still have THE BLOOPER REEL to look forward to! That's right, when I'm done with this story I'll add a blooper reel chapter at the end! So prepare yourselves!  
  
And by the way, the rewritten version of 'Behind the Terror' is now up. Be sure to read the first chapter!  
  
Suddenly the room was enveloped in a flash of red light. For a moment, it was so bright that no one could see. When it faded that demon had retreated away from Carolyn, and there was someone else standing in the room.  
  
It was an extremely good-looking 16-year-old boy. He had short black hair with red streaks coming down from the roots. His eyes were a deep shade of red. His eyes looked evil on first glance, but if you looked closer you could see a hidden gentleness. He was wearing a black shirt with long sleeves. A single red stripe ran down each sleeve. His jeans were also black. He wore white sneakers and had lightly tanned skin. Riku noticed his fingernails were slightly longer and sharper that normal. And his canine teeth looked more like small fangs. He stood in front of Carolyn. In his right hand he held a black sword with a red stripe down the middle of the blade and had a crescent moon engraved into the red handle.  
  
"Carolyn!" The boy snapped. "Are you and the morons alright?!"  
  
"W-We're fine, but." Carolyn gasped in shock at seeing the boy. "What are you doing here?!"  
  
"We WERE fine, until now." Caitlin grumbled. "Now that HE'S here, he's gonna try to be Mr. Big Shot Hero to impress Carolyn."  
  
"Do you guys know him?" Sora asked Caitlin.  
  
"Sure do! His name's-"  
  
"KATIE!" A voice rang out cutting Caitlin off. Another boy ran forward towards Katie. He was also a good-looking boy, with short brown hair that was spiked up in front. He had soft brown eyes and was wearing a jean jacket with a black t-shirt underneath. He also wore baggy blue jeans and white sneakers. He looked about 14, same as Katie and Carolyn. Katie's eyes lit up when she saw him.  
  
"SAM!" She squealed happily. She had been cradling Cedric's head in her lap, but she dropped him and got to her feet. She flung herself into Sam's arms, bawling like a baby. "I NEVER THOUGHT I'D SEE YOU AGAIN!"  
  
"Can I have a little help here?" Cedric asked weakly.  
  
"Probably not." Tom sighed.  
  
"Hang on, I'll help you." Caitlin said. She drew her sword. It had a short silver blade with holes running up the sides. The handle looked like two green leaves turned horizontal with the stems touching. She held one of the holes to her mouth and blew softly. A single sweet note emitted. Suddenly Cedric sprang to his feet. He stretched out his arms and smiled.  
  
"Alright! That music somehow healed my wounds!" He pointed at Sam. "But who is that guy?"  
  
"I was wondering the same thing." Mia added.  
  
"Oh him?" Caitlin said smiling, "That's just Katie's boyfriend, Sam."  
  
"B-BOYFRIEND?!" Cedric roared.  
  
Mia playfully elbowed him in the ribs. "Looks like someone's jealous."  
  
"I AM NOT JEALOUS!" Cedric snarled. "I just thought she liked ME."  
  
"Fuck off ya crackpot." Sam snapped. Katie poked him.  
  
"Don't be so mean Sam. He's had it rough. He lost his parents."  
  
Sam sighed and let go of Katie and turned to Cedric. "I'm sorry man. I'm just really jealous. Some creep tried to steal Katie from me awhile ago and I've been really suspicious of every guy she becomes friends with since."  
  
Cedric smiled and held up his hands. "Hey, it's alright."  
  
"Good, SO STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM HER!" Sam roared suddenly. He slapped himself in the forehead. "Sorry. I just lose control for a second and WHAM!"  
  
Suddenly the boy with red-streaked hair spoke up. "HEY SAM! LITTLE HELP OVER HERE?!"  
  
"Whoops! Sorry pal!" Sam yelled. He drew a sword that looked like the blade was an upside down miniature cyclone.  
  
The strange boy turned to Sora and Riku. "HEY YOU! QUIT SLACKING AND HELP OUT!"  
  
"Bossy little son of a gun ain't he?" Sora grumbled drawing his keyblade.  
  
"Yeah," Riku said rolling his eyes. "We don't even know his name and he's ordering US around!"  
  
Cedric ran forward to join his fellow keyblade masters. Rikku turned to Carolyn.  
  
"Hey Carolyn! Now that you're awake why don't you use that 'Omega Arrow' thing again?"  
  
"I would." She sighed, "But I can't."  
  
"WHY NOT?!"  
  
"The first one took all my energy. It'll take days to replenish. I've got nothing left!"  
  
"You just rest Carolyn!" The boy with red streaks in his hair called. "I'll clean up the mess!" He turned to Sam, Sora, Riku, and Cedric. "You guys ready?" They nodded. The boy ran forward towards the demon. "THEN LETS GO!" 


	34. Final Battle Part 1

Disclaimer: There really is no excuse for this chapter being late. I'm just really lazy. Plus I was on sound crew for my school play and had to stay after school everyday until 9:00. Anyway, enjoy.  
  
The boy reached the monster first. He leapt into the air with a great battle cry. He brought his sword down in a downward swipe. It cut through the demon's flesh, but the wound healed up right away. The boy continued to hack and slice at the monster; each time he gave a battle cry that was getting increasingly annoying.  
  
"Shouldn't we be helping him?" Sora asked Sam. He, Riku, Cedric, and Sam hadn't budged from their spots.  
  
Sam smiled and shook his head. "Nah. We'll help when he gets himself in some serious shit. For now, let's just watch the master work."  
  
"Who is that guy anyway?" Riku asked.  
  
Sam shut his eyes and forced another smile. "His name is Cronos. He's one of Carolyn's guardians, and he's my best friend in all the world."  
  
Suddenly Cronos was blasted backwards. He skidded to a halt near the group of boys.  
  
"Need any help?" Cedric asked.  
  
"No way in hell!" Cronos roared springing to is feet. "I can take this guy! He wouldn't be so tough if it weren't for all that power!" He ran back towards his opponent screaming another battle cry.  
  
"In retrospect, it was a poor choice." Sam sighed.  
  
Suddenly, as Sam spoke the demon plunged one of its claws into Cronos's stomach. He roared in pain and fell to the ground.  
  
"CRONOS!" Carolyn screamed. She ran forward and cradled his head in her arms. The wound looked very deep. Dark-red blood poured from his body. Carolyn squeezed his hand as she fought back tears. Cronos was quiet; he just stared up at her silently.  
  
"Well it looks like he's in some serious shit NOW!" Sora yelled, "Let's get that creep!"  
  
Riku, Sora, Cedric, and Sam, all ran at the demon. Their weapons were drawn and they looked pissed.  
  
Sora yelled out, "RAGNAROK!" And dove at the demon, his body ablaze with golden light. He hacked and slashed repeatedly at the demon. The keyblade hit it in the same spot each time, only this time the wound didn't close.  
  
"That's it!" Sam yelled, "That's the clue to victory! If you hit it in the same spot, repeatedly it can't close the wound! We just might win!"  
  
Cedric smiled. "Well in that case..." Cedric closed his eyes. He seemed to be focusing all his energy on something.  
  
"What's he doing?" Riku said frowning.  
  
Cedric suddenly dropped down on all fours. His teeth with clenched in a vicious snarled. He seemed to be growling like a dog. Suddenly, dark-blue fur the same color as his hair began to sprout all over his body. His hands and feet turned into paws and his face morphed. Cedric was gone, in his place stood a huge wolf with dark-blue fur, and golden eyes.  
  
"Whoa!" Caitlin said in shock, "He can morph into a wolf?! I've only read about that in ancient legends!"  
  
Cedric dove at the demon. He sank his teeth into its right arm and didn't let go, even when the demon shook its arm, Cedric held on fast.  
  
"Release me you little fool!" It roared. But before it could successfully shake Cedric off, Sam launched an attack that pushed all thoughts of Cedric out of its mind.  
  
"RELEASE WIND!" Sam yelled extending his hands upward. At that moment, a tornado surrounded the demon. Cedric was smart enough to release it and run for cover. The tornado swirled around it at a frightening speed. It seemed like blades of wind were cutting multiple wounds all over its body repeatedly. When it finally came to an end. The demon had many more injuries all over its body.  
  
"Take that you dirty cur!" Sam cheered punching the air.  
  
"You gonna leave some for me, or what?" A voice asked. Everyone spun around. Cronos was standing up. He was leaning on his sword for support, but he was smiling.  
  
"Hey! You're not dead!" Riku cried in disbelief.  
  
"I'm not? Really?" Cronos asked jokingly, "Phew. When I saw Katie I was sure I was in Hell."  
  
"Well hardy har har." Katie grumbled.  
  
"Are you sure you're alright?" Carolyn asked, with real concern in her voice. Cronos smiled.  
  
"Don't worry about me. It's just a minor hole in my stomach. I've had a lot worse. Remember when I got stabbed with that poison sword and everyone was sure I wouldn't live to see the morning?"  
  
Carolyn shuddered. "Don't remind me. I didn't sleep a wink that night."  
  
"How did you survive?" Sora asked in amazement.  
  
Cronos chuckled. "Well, I'm half-fairy, half-human. I'm a lot harder to kill than most people." His expression became serious. "Enough talk! ATTACK!"  
  
While Cronos and the others were fighting, Carolyn felt a horrible sense of guilt. "I'm so weak... Cronos or somebody else always has to come save me. Now I'm too weak to perform even the simplest attack. I've got to do something...SOMETHING!"  
  
Just then, she got an idea. 


	35. Final Battle Part 2

Disclaimer: A note to readers of my 'Guardians of Magic 2' story. A new chapter is up, go and read it!  
  
"Katie! Mia! Yuna!" Carolyn cried motioning for her friends, "C'mere!"  
  
The three of them hurried over to her. "What's the problem?" Yuna asked.  
  
"I'm going to use the Omega Arrow again." Carolyn said calmly. She began to place an arrow on her bow.  
  
"Carolyn don't!" Mia cried grabbing her arm. "If you use it again, it'll sap all your energy and kill you!"  
  
Carolyn nodded. "I know. I won't be using my energy. I'll be using energy from all three of you to power my attack."  
  
"But how?" Katie asked. Her stupidity was temporarily gone.  
  
"My arrow requires purity and light to use its power. Normally it feeds off my energy, so it's not a problem. But now that my energy is depleted, it needs another pure source, like the three of you. You're the Pure-Hearts, right?"  
  
"So we've heard..." Mia said frowning.  
  
"So, if the three of you can each channel some of your energy into my body, then I'll have more than enough strength to use another Omega Arrow."  
  
"And what if it doesn't work?" Yuna asked.  
  
Carolyn shrugged. "Then the arrow will sap my life energy, destroy the demon, and kill me."  
  
"That's the craziest, most risky plan I've ever heard!" Katie yelled. "Let's do it!"  
  
"It's appalling how little the safety of your friend means to you." Yuna spat at Katie.  
  
Katie sighed. "It's not that I don't care, but I don't bother putting up a fight with her anymore. Once she's decided something, it's decided. Believe me, if we'd refused, she'd have shot the arrow anyway and gotten herself killed. At least this way she has a chance."  
  
"Alright." Mia sighed, "As leader of the pure-hearts, I say we give it a try."  
  
"Good," Carolyn said. "Alright, now stand in a circle, join hands, and repeat after me..."  
  
Meanwhile, the fight dragged on in the background.  
  
"You there!" Sam yelled to Lulu, "Black Mage!"  
  
"I have a name." She snapped, "It's Lulu!"  
  
"Sorry Lulu!" Sam said correcting himself. "I need you to cast an ice spell for me!"  
  
"Alright," She sighed. She held out her hand, "BLIZZARDGA!"  
  
A swarm of ice shards flew from her hand. Sam quickly cast a wind spell at the ice spell. The small tornado caused the ice shards to zip forward so fast that they were a blur. They all sliced into the demons thick hide. It roared in pain.  
  
"Wound me, will you, little worms?" It snarled. It held out its clawed hand. Suddenly a horrible piercing sound shot through everyone's ears. The room filled with a black shadow, and when anyone breathed, it felt like they were inhaling fire. The pain was so unbearable that everyone had to struggle to stand upright.  
  
"GUYS!" Carolyn coughed. "DON'T GIVE UP! KEEP CHANTING THAT INCANTATION!"  
  
Mia, Yuna, and Katie were all standing in a circle. They were all grasping each other's hands, shouting out an incantation that Carolyn had taught them. Occasionally, one of them would stop chanting to cough in pain from the effects of the spell. It seemed to set them back quite a bit when that happened.  
  
Rikku then noticed that the shadow that caused the pain throughout the room, was oozing from the demon's mouth.  
  
"TIDUS!" She screamed. She pulled out a hand grenade and ran towards him. Tidus immediately guessed what he had to do. He folded both his hands and held them out. When Rikku came near him, she jumped up onto his hands. He pushed upward, launching her higher into the air. She pulled the pin out of the grenade with her teeth and shoved it into the demon's mouth. She then rolled to the ground unharmed.  
  
"GUYS!" She screamed covering her head with her hands, as she scrambled away from it. "FIRE IN THE HOLE!"  
  
Anyone that happened to be near the demon at the time, bolted away. There was a great explosion and a good portion of the demon's mouth was gone. Although it seemed like it hadn't caused a lot of damage, it had obviously disabled the demon's shadow smoke attack. Everyone immediately took huge breaths of air. After inhaling what felt like the fires of Hell, normal air felt like Heaven. The three pure-hearts continued chanting.  
  
"DOSU BA SAA BIKU ZUZUN SU JARI!" They were practically screaming it out now. Carolyn could feel their energy slowly growing inside her as they continued chanting. "DOSU BA SAA BIKU ZUZUN SU JARI! DOSU BA SAA BIKU ZUZUN SU JARI!"  
  
Cedric ran forward, and leapt at the demon's head. The monster swiped its claws at him, but fortunately for our young shape changing hero-type-person. It missed him. Cedric landed on its face, and before it could react, Cedric sank his fangs into its right eyeball. There was a sickening POP inside its head. It roared in agony, grabbed Cedric in its claws, and hurled him across the room, but Cedric had already accomplished his job; the demon was now blind in its right eye.  
  
Cedric slammed into the wall at full force and fell to the floor. He lay perfectly still. His fur slowly sank back into his skin. He was now lying fully clothed as a human again. He lay still and unmoving. His chest no longer rose and fell as he drew breath. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. His eyes were closed.  
  
Before the demon could make another move, Wakka finished what Cedric started. He hurled his spike-covered blitzball at its face. This one hit him in the LEFT eye. It roared in pain as Wakka's blitzball bounced off its skin and back into his hand. It was now completely blind.  
  
Kairi ran at the demon, determined to play some role in bringing down the monster that had caused so much pain. Her heart shone pink through her white shirt. She held out her hands, a red beam of energy flew from them and struck it in the chest. It roared in pain. It swung its claws blindly at her, but she managed to dodge them.  
  
Meanwhile, as the fight dragged on, Mia, Yuna, and Katie were still chanting. "DOSU BA SAA BIKU ZUZUN SU JARI! DOSU BA SAA BIKU ZUZUN SU JARI!"  
  
"KEEP IT UP!" Carolyn screamed. Their energy was strong inside her now. "WE'RE ALMOST THERE!"  
  
It was at that moment, that somebody finally noticed the dead Cedric lying on the ground, slumped lifelessly against the wall.  
  
"CEDRIC!" Riku yelled. He dodged a blow from the demon and ran to his former enemy's side. He'd just met the real Cedric! It wasn't fair for him to die yet! All the poor guy had wanted was to avenge his parents! "CEDRIC!" Riku yelled shaking him. "DON'T YOU DARE DIE ON ME!"  
  
At that moment, Cedric drew in a sharp mouthful of air, as in response to Riku's demand. He sat up, coughing up a mouthful of blood.  
  
"Phew," He said wiping flecks of blood off his lips. "I thought I was going to DIE!"  
  
Riku punched him on the forehead. "WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA OF COLLAPSING WITH THAT DEAD LOOK ON YOUR FACE?!"  
  
"You're the one who decided I LOOKED dead." Cedric grumbled.  
  
"If you were okay, then why did you turn back into a human?!" Riku demanded.  
  
Cedric shrugged. "I didn't know if I was going to live or die, and if I DID die, I wanted to look human for my funeral."  
  
"Vain little idiot..." Cronos grumbled.  
  
At that moment, Carolyn felt a rush of energy tear throughout her body. "THAT'S ENOUGH! STOP!" She screamed. Mia, Yuna, and Katie stopped chanting. Carolyn stood shakily to her feet. Now was the moment of truth. Would her plan work?  
  
She placed her arrow on the bow again. As she drew back on the string, the tip of the arrow began to shine with a holy white light. For a moment, she held the string back like that, she seemed to be absorbing the moment; all the anxiety, fear, and pain of it.  
  
Then she released it.  
  
The arrow seemed to whiz forward in slow motion. It spun as it went, making a whistling sound. The demon had just swung its claw at Cronos, and for a split second, Carolyn was sure it would hit its arm instead of its chest. But when Cronos dodged the attack, the demon drew back its arm to ready another attack, exposing its chest. The arrow was microscopic compared to the demon, but its effect was tremendous. It sank into its chest with a THUNK! Instantly the monster was ablaze with light. It roared and thrashed as it tried to rip the arrow out of its chest, but it was too small for a BLIND demon to find.  
  
The demon seemed to be sucked into an invisible black hole. For a moment, it was turning slowly in a spiral, growing smaller every second.  
  
Then it was gone. Dead. 


	36. Home

Disclaimer: Here it is, the final chapter of this story. I started this fanfic about a year ago, and I was amazed at the excellent response it got. This fic is probably the best story I've written thus far. I want to thank all the readers, loyal reviewers, and everyone who bugged me to finish this story. I hope you enjoyed it; I put a lot of time an effort into it. But never fear; I plan to put a Blooper Reel up after this chapter. (I'll get around to it when I feel like it.) And there WILL be a sequel, but I'd like to get some work done on some of my others fics first. (Note to self: never try to work on so many stories at once again). Anyway, for now, enjoy the chapter.  
  
(What can you expect in the sequel? More Carolyn, Katie, Sam, and Cronos for one. And will Cedric finally find true love? And the mystery of the keyblades revealed! But that's all I'm saying!) ;)  
  
~Carolyn~  
  
Cedric closed his eyes and felt his forehead. Everyone could see the eye on his forehead beginning to close. Finally it shut completely and vanished.  
  
"It worked..." He whispered not opening his eyes, "I'm myself again." He weakly crawled over to Carolyn and flung his arms around her in a hug. "And I have you to thank for it! Thank you so much!"  
  
Cedric didn't mean anything. The hug was just the best way he could think of to express his gratitude. However, Cronos took it the wrong way. He stormed up, grabbed Cedric by the back of the armor and pulled him away from Carolyn.  
  
"TAKE YOUR HANDS OFF HER RIGHT NOW!"  
  
"CRONOS!" Carolyn snapped angrily.  
  
"DIDN'T YOU SEE WHAT THAT PERVERT WAS DOING?!" Cronos shouted back.  
  
"DON'T CALL HIM A PERVERT!" Carolyn snapped.  
  
"That's right," Cedric added, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything by it. I'm just extremely grateful to her."  
  
Cronos glared at him. "Alright, I accept your apology...this time..."  
  
"Why were you so worked up about some stupid hug anyway?" Rikku asked. Cronos blushed.  
  
"Uh...well..."  
  
"Hey!" Sora added, "Come to think of it, he was looking at her really weird right after he got stabbed!"  
  
Carolyn and Cronos both blushed furiously. They looked up at their group of friends who were looking at them expectantly. But they were both saved from an embarrassing explanation about their feelings for each other, by a rumbling feeling that shook the castle.  
  
"WHAT'S HAPPENING?!" Sam cried hugging Katie close protectively.  
  
"The demon!" Carolyn cried, "It was the only thing keeping all the worlds connected, now that it's gone, the heartless are all dying, and the walls that divide the worlds are moving back into place!"  
  
"Then we'll be trapped in this world forever!" Riku yelled.  
  
"We can't be!" Tidus cried, "We all have to focus and go back to each of our worlds!"  
  
Sora looked at his group of friends and sighed sadly. These people had traveled together, fought together, laughed together, argued together, and gotten drunk and sugar-high together. And now, they'd never be able to see each other again.  
  
Yuna seemed to read his thoughts. "I know Sora, we're sorry, but Spira is our home and we miss it! We have to go back now!"  
  
Sora blinked back tears and nodded. "Alright. Goodbye you guys! Take care of yourselves!"  
  
Tidus, Yuna, Wakka, Lulu, and Rikku joined hands and stood in a circle with their eyes shut. None of them spoke; they all knew they'd never see Sora or the others again. A red light surrounded them and they all vanished into it.  
  
"Carolyn!" Cronos yelled to her. "We should be heading back home too! If we don't, we'll be locked out of our world forever!" Carolyn nodded in response. She tried to pull herself to her feet, but she winced in pain. She was obviously too weak to stand after using two Omega Arrows in a row. Cronos knelt down and picked her up in his arms.  
  
Sam held out his right hand. A bright red vortex opened. Tom and Caitlin hastily bolted through it, calling out quick farewells to their friends.  
  
"Take care guys!" Katie called cheerfully waving. Sora smiled. He was going to miss Katie and her wacky antics most of all. Kairi saw his sadness and gave her boyfriend's hand a gentle squeeze. Katie and Sam both jumped through the vortex and vanished.  
  
"Carolyn?" Cronos said, "Let's go!" With that he ran towards the closing vortex. Carolyn just barely got out a faint, 'Goodbye.' before they both vanished through it. It closed behind them.  
  
"Do you think we'll ever see her again?" Kairi asked.  
  
Sora smiled faintly, "I don't know. But I have good feeling we might."  
  
Mia turned to Cedric. "So what will you do?"  
  
Cedric smiled at her. "I plan on going with you back to your home on Destiny Islands of course."  
  
"WHAT?!" Riku yelled. He looked less than pleased at the thought of his only romantic rival having 24-hour access to his girlfriend.  
  
Cedric seemed to read his thoughts and smiled again. "Don't worry Riku. I still love her of course, but it feels like the end and I've lost. She's not interested in anyone but you, consider yourself the luckiest boy on the planet."  
  
Riku and Mia both smiled at each other. "Alright," Riku sighed, "I guess you can come with us."  
  
Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mia, and Cedric all joined hands. They closed their eyes and thought of Destiny Islands. Earlier on, everyone had wanted to save all the worlds, but now all they wanted to do was go home. Before all this had happened, Sora had always wanted to be a hero, always wanted to do something great, always wanted to go on adventures, always wanted to do what no one else had done, but now all he wanted to do was go back his island, live a normal life surrounded by the people he loved. All he wanted now was what everyone wants.  
  
He felt his body being enveloped in a red light. He gripped his friend's hands tightly. He felt his stomach drop out as he was pulled down through a vortex. He felt his body seem to turn weightless as he floated downwards through anti-gravity.  
  
After what seemed like an eternity of floating in nothing, Sora felt something under him. He opened his eyes. He could see a sunny cloudless sky overhead. He recognized the texture of the material he was laying on. Sand.  
  
He sat up and looked around. The landscape seemed unfamiliar at first, but then the answer hit him like a bag of bricks. Destiny Islands.  
  
He looked over to his side. He could see his friends all lying on the ground with their eyes squeezed shut. Mia was still clutching Riku's hand tightly as if it were the only thing keeping her alive.  
  
"Guys look!" Sora cried happily, "We're all back!"  
  
Everyone sat up and looked around. Cedric stretched out his hand and felt the sunlight warm his pale white skin.  
  
"Sunlight," He murmured, "Real sunlight." He smiled. "I could definitely get used to this."  
  
Kairi gave a cry of happiness and flung her arms around Sora in a tight hug. Riku smiled at Mia, wrapped his arms around her and kissed her passionately. Cedric looked on smiling. He looked a little sad, but at the same time he looked happy.  
  
Sora felt joy, true joy, fill his heart for the first time in his life. He grinned stupidly and kissed his girlfriend lightly on the lips.  
  
He was home.  
  
The End. 


	37. Blooper Reel

Blooper Reel:

(scene in lagoon where Riku and Mia are about to kiss)

(Riku and Mia lean towards each other about to kiss)

Katie: WHOOHOO!  
  


(Katie cannonballs off rock into lagoon making a huge splash, soaking Riku and Mia even more)

Carolyn: (stands up) CUT! GREAT JOB KATIE! YOU JUST KILLED THE MOST ROMANTIC SCENE IN THE WHOLE STORY! I need a drink… Someone tie her down with duck tape…

(scene where Cedric is explaining his origins)

Cedric: It all began when my father…um…

(take 14)

Cedric: It all began when my father discovered the first heartless and…oh (bleep)

(take 27)

Cedric: It all began when my father discovered the first heartless and…oh God I hate this bloody line! Where's Carolyn? I'm gonna kill her for writing it!

(scene when Riku first meets Cedric)

Riku: WHAT JUSTICE?! TRUE JUSTICE, TRUE POWER IS IN THE HEART! NOT IN SOMETHING VILE LIKE YOU!!  
  


(Ryudo from Grandia 2 stomps on set and shoves a piece of paper in Carolyn's hand and stomps back out)

Riku: What's it say?

Carolyn: It's a lawsuit for stealing his lines…I really have to stop plagiarizing quotes…

(Offset. Carolyn randomly chasing Cronos with a pitchfork)

(Interview with Carolyn, Riku, Mia, and Cedric)

Carolyn: Working with Mia was really hard. She was always trying to change the story. And that wasn't even the tip of the iceberg, then came the drinking.

Mia: (drunkly) For the love of God! It was only a few drinks!

Cedric: (shaking his head) That woman needs professional help.

Carolyn: Overall this whole production could've gone a lot smoother, but I'm really happy with what came out. And I think the cast really started to like me!

Riku: (muttering) Slavedriver…

Mia: (muttering) Troll…

Cedric: (muttering) Ego manic!

Carolyn: And I can't wait until we start working on the sequel!

Cedric: (sobbing) What was my agent thinking?! I could've been in 'Daughter of Destiny'!

Mia: (passed out drunk)

Riku: Right now, I'm trying to get a part in 'Behind the Terror', but it's been really hard. If I had a dollar for every time I heard the words, 'fangirl army', I'd have…(counts on fingers) WOW! I'D BE RICH! I'D HAVE A LOT MORE MONEY THAN WHAT I MADE WORKING ON THIS PROJECT!

(Flashes to outside the studio. Katie is putting up a huge billboard, advertising the story)

Katie: (singing softly) Final Fantasy is an RPG, it 's the RPG for me, the only one that I need…

(Carolyn, grinning evilly, shoves the ladder out from under her. Katie screams and grabs onto the sign for support. The sign and the ladder fall backwards, crushing Katie on the ground)

Cronos: (runs out) What happened?!

Carolyn: (points at unconscious Katie) Katie broke the sign!

Cronos: (nods) Well, at least no one was hurt.

(they walk away leaving the semi-conscious girl behind)

Katie: Um…hello? Carolyn? I'm still under here! Carolyn? Cronos? Riku? …Cedric? Uh…Sam? Anybody? ………Aw nerts…

(scene when everyone is fighting Ansem in his final form)

Riku: Prepare to die you piece of-(stops and looks up) is that a plane?

Carolyn: SHIT! SOMEONE SHOOT IT DOWN!

Monster Ansem: I'll be in my trailer! (Stomps off)

(Interview with Sora)

Sora: I really can't see what the big fuss was about this story. RIKU was the main character, not ME! It was some big deal about him and this girl, not about me! ME ME ME! Okay I'm done…

(Lagoon scene…again…boy I love making fun of this scene)

(Riku and Mia lean towards each other about to kiss…again)

Katie: WHOOHOO!  
  


(Katie cannonballs off rock into lagoon making a huge splash…again)

(Carolyn's eye twitches)

Five milliseconds later…

  
Katie: (being chased by Carolyn) WAAAAAAAAH! SAM! HELP! CAROLYN'S SCARING ME AGAIN!

Carolyn: (demonic voice with eyes of fire) COME HERE KATIE!!! I JUST WANNA GIVE YOU A GREAT BIG HUG!!!

(Carolyn writing script)

Katie: (doing a monkey dance in front of her) Does this distract you?

Carolyn: (lying) No.

Katie: (continues dancing) Not even a little?

Carolyn: Cronos, please deal with her for me.

Cronos: Got it. (addresses Katie) Hey Katie, wanna play rock-paper-scissors?

Katie: Kay!

Cronos: Rock…paper…scissor…(whips out sword and hits Katie in the head) IN THE EYE!

Carolyn: Thank you.

Carolyn: (announcing to readers of story) I'm sorry, but the chapters will all be up in about 500 years. Also, the sequel has been delayed…again. And I also discovered that Katie took everyone on a road trip…in a spaceship…to the sun…so NASA's gonna be spending quiet some time saving them. And I have a bad case of writer's block. And another note: go read Cirque du Freak. It's a great book series that's not getting nearly enough credit.

Random Reader: (points accusingly at her) Are you telling us everything?

Carolyn: (nervously) Not exactly, we're also out of sugar.

All readers: NOOOOOOOOOO!

Carolyn: (staring at readers in shock) You're all still here? It's OVER! Go on home! Wait, you are home… Well, go outside, looks like its gonna be a nice day. (turns to leave, but faces readers again) Go on! Scram! You're bugging me! (screen begins to fade out)

Katie: (runs in and tugs Carolyn's sleeve) Carolyn?

Carolyn: Hmm?

Katie: I want to say goodbye.

Carolyn: Alright, alright, fade back in.

(screen is back to normal)

Carolyn: (waving) Goodbye.

Katie: (waving) Bye-bye!

Caitlin: (pops out of nowhere) BYE!

Credits (don't worry, there's some jokes in here too!):

Written by:

Carolyn

Produced by:

Carolyn

Imagined by:

Carolyn

Directed by:

Carolyn

Typed by:

Carolyn again

Edited by:

Yup, Carolyn again

Did everything involving real work on this fic:

Carolyn

Came up with jokes that were stolen by Carolyn:

Katie and Caitlin

Were imagined by Carolyn for THIS fanfic only (and the sequel of course):

Mia and Cedric

Was imagined by Carolyn for her 'The Legend Begins' fanfic:

Cronos

Ran around laughing while sugar-high:

Carolyn, Katie, and Caitlin

Dressed an unconscious Katie in a monkey suit and put her on a bus to Ohio:

Carolyn and Caitlin

Whined about writing the story, but was surprised when people stopped reading it:

Carolyn

Pissed and moaned the entire time about not being the main character in this fic:

Sora

Rubbed it in Sora's face:

Riku

Was the damsel in distress for HALF the fanfic (she was a great sport about it by the way):

  
Mia

Vanished, and then NEVER appeared again (and never will):

Goofy and Donald (Katie took all the comedy moments, so there was no more need for them)

Ate Carolyn's brownie when she wasn't looking:

Katie

Was mercilessly beaten by Carolyn for eating said brownie:

Katie

Didn't stand up for Katie when brownie incident occurred:

Caitlin

Makes the most bitchin flash movies EVER:

Legendary Frog (go to his site: www.legendaryfrog.com)

Copied Legendary Frog and is now trying to make flash movies as well:

Carolyn (seriously, I am)

Created the Universe:  
  


God

Tries to destroy said universe:

Satan (YOU SUCK, SATAN!)

Breathed my oxygen:

Everyone

Fought with me over the computer:

My family

Crashed and broke down on a daily basis:

My computer

Gave me the SUCKIEST Internet connection EVER:

AOL

Are all REAL people:

Carolyn (ME!), Katie (my bestest friend!), Caitlin (also my bestest friend!), Tommy (my lil bro!), Sam, and I THINK Riku might be real, but I can't prove it.

Wishes you a good day and hopes you read the sequel when it comes out:

Me!

~Carolyn~


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